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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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i^  THE  KINGDOM  OF 

":nev]-:r:  grow  old': 


''Of  Such  is 
the  Kingdom'' 

And  Other  Stories  from  Life 


By  Richard  L^  Metcalfe 

Illustrations  by  Franklin  Booth 


Fourth  Edition 


1907 
The  Woodruff-Collins  Press 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  U.  S.  A. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1906,  by 

Richard  L.  Metcalfe,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian 

of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Copyrif^hted  1907,  by  Richard  L.  Metcalfe. 


h '  c) 


}> ' 


I  i  0  7 


To  My  Mother, 

THE  SWEETHEART  OF  MY  YOUTH;' 
AND 

To  My  Wife, 

THE  SWEETHEART    OF    MY  YEARS: 


156397'i 


IN  THE  BEGINNING 

Carlyle  wrote:  "If  a  book  come  from  the  heart 
it  will  contrive  to  reach  other  hearts;  all  art  and 
author  craft  are  of  small  moment  to  that" ;  and  this  is 
the  only  excuse  I  have  to  offer  for  the  publication  of 
this  Uttle  volimie. 

R.  L.  M. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

In  the  Kingdom  of  "Never-Grow-Old"  .  .  Frontispiece 

"My  Heart's  a  Beatin'  Hard  for  My  Daddy  to  Come 
Home" 

"Course  it  Wasn't  Stealing" 

"The  Fine  Old  Soldier  Passed   Down  the  Valley" 

"The  Boy  and  His  Sweetheart" 

"No  Fro  Rocks" 

"With  the  Wet  Shivering  Dog  in  His  Arms,  the  Man 
Applied  for  Protection  at  the  PoUce  Station" 


TABLE    OF  CONTENTS 

"Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom" 7 

In  the  Kingdom  of    Never    Grow  Old _  _  13 

"And  a  Little  Child  Shall   Lead  Them" _. 17 

A  "Stolen"  Flower 22 

The  Literature  of  the  Children 24 

Pansies  for  Thoughts 32 

The  Foundations  of  Peace 39 

Portsmouth  and  San  Francisco 48 

V/hen  the  "Master"  Knocks 57 

The  Great  Whispering  Gallery  64 

"Going  Down  the  Valley" 69 

Kneeling  Among  the  Lilies 76 

The  Mystic  Chords 80 

The  Story  of  the  "Ninety  and  Nine" 84 

The  Majesty  of  the  Mother's  Love 91 

The  Dreams  that  Come  True 99 

When  the  Boat  Has  Touched  Shore 106 

"The  Great  World's  Altar  Stairs" 112 

The  Freemasonry  of  Sentiment 118 

"Greater  Love  Hath   no  Man" 125 

The  Old  Churns^ Living  and    Dead 129 

The  Blind  Man's  Prayer 133 

The  Cup  of  Cold  Water 137 

The  Higher  Tests  of   Manhood 143 

Revival  of  the  Old 148 

"Scattered  at  the  Feet  of  Man" 153 

"No  Fro  Wocks" 158 

"The  Bravest  are  the  Tenderest" 160 

Killing  Men 167 

Governor  Hogg's  Monument 171 

"A  Grand  Old  Man" 174 

Burdens  of  the  Christmas  Season 179 

The  Value  of    Little  Things 183 

Milestones  on  Love's  Pathway 187 

Mending  God's  Law 191 

A  "Lonely"  Heart 195 

"Jun" 201 

Keeping  Christmas  in  the  Heart 204 

The  poem  on  page  98  was  written  by  Robert  Cameron  Rogers,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  and  has  become  famous  in  the  song  called  "The  Rosary." 


N  A  Pullman  car  going  out  of  a  western  city 
the  berths  had  been  made  down  and  many 
of  the  passengers  had  retired.  A  party  of 
convivial  spirits  had  concluded  its  session  in 
the  smoking  room,  and  its  members  were  making 
their  way  to  their  berths.  The  foremost  man  found 
his  passage- v/ay  along  the  narrow  aisle  checked  by 
a  pair  of  tiny  legs,  and  looking  down  he  saw  a 
little  child  kneeling  at  its  mother's  berth.  Profound 
silence  reigned  in  that  car.  The  men  in  the  rear 
pushed  forv/ard  in  order  to  see  what  had  checked 
the  progress  of  their  leader.  Exchanging  significant 
glances,  all  of  the  members  of  this  party  removed 
their  hats  and  reverently  bowed  their  heads  while 
there  floated  through  the  car — and  doubtless  upward 
and  onward,  and  onward  and  upward — the  sweet 
childish  treble  of  : 

Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 

I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  keep; 

If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 

I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  take. 

That  was  a  lesson — out  of  the  mouth  of  a  babe 
— in  Christian  reverence. 

A  very  little  girl  sometimes  grew  absurdly  rhe- 
torical during  her  evening  prayers.     On  one  occasion 


8  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

she  had  one  of  her  "funny  streaks"  and  delivered 
her  invocation  in  jerky  sentences  that  grated  harshly 
upon  the  mother's  ears.  Several  times  she  was 
admonished,  and  finally  the  mother  said:  "Ellie, 
if  you  do  not  say  your  prayers  right,  I  will  not  permit 
you  to  say  them  at  all."  The  little  girl  looked  up, 
and  v/ith  her  fine  eyes  flashing  fire,  declared:  "Well, 
I  dess  dese  is  my  prayers;  I  dess  dey  ain't  your 
prayers." 

That  was  a  lesson  in  religious  liberty. 

A  father  carrying  a  sweet-faced  child  not  yet  three 
years  of  age,  stepped  upon  the  rear  platform  of  a 
street  car.  The  car  was  crowded,  and  several  women 
were  pressing  for  places.  Some  of  the  men  were 
not  displaying  great  gallantry,  and  as  the  father 
started  to  enter  the  car,  everyone  was  startled,  as 
well  as  amused,  when  the  baby,  with  his  arm  encir- 
cling his  father's  neck,  leaned  over  and  looked  him 
in  the  face,  saying:  "Let  the  ladies  in  fust,  daddy; 
let  the  ladies  in  fust." 

That  was  a  lesson — from  a  babe — in  poHteness; 
and  it  produced  immediate  results  in  that  crowded 
car. 

A  terrific  storm  was  raging,  and  in  one  home  two 
of  the  larger  children  of  the  household  were  greatly 
frightened,  both  giving  way  to  sobs.  A  five-year-old 
lad,  who  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed  by  the  storm, 
soon  wearied  of  the  cries  of  the  older  children,  and 
blurted  out:  "Oh,  stop  your  bawlin'  !  Don't  you 
s'pose  God  knows  his  business  ?" 

That  was  a  lesson— out  of  the  mouth  of  a  babe — 
in  simple  faith. 


*'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  9 

One  of  the  best  known  of  the  district  judges  in  a 
western  city,  long  ago  learned  to  leave  his  dignity 
upon  the  bench,  and  to  forget  it  while  recuperating 
in  the  sunshine  of  "The  Kingdom."  Not  long  ago  the 
judge  left  his  home  in  the  morning  before  his  infant 
child  had  awakened.  Rousing  from  his  sleep,  the 
little  one  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  calling  to  his  mother, 
asked,  "Where's  my  daddy?"  He  was  told  that 
the  judge  had  gone  to  his  daily  labors.  "Did  he  kiss 
me  before  he  went  away?"  asked  the  child. 

The  mother  replied  in  the  aflfirmative. 

For  some  time  the  little  one  lay  still  and  then 
called:  "Mamma,  come  and  feel  my  heart." 

The  mother,  with  some  curiosity  and  considerable 
anxiety,  complied  with  the  request,  and  asked: 
"What's  the  matter  with  your  heart?" 

The  little  one  replied:  "My  heart's  a-beatin'  hard 
for  my  daddy  to  come  home." 

That  was  a  lesson  in  love. 

Men  may  learn  much  from  these  little  ones.  Un- 
fortunate, indeed,  is  the  man  who  does  not  know 
what  it  is  to  be  greeted  by  a  little  child;  who  has 
never  felt  the  warm  embrace  of  two  little  arms,  and 
who  has  not  been  privileged  to  gather  inspiration  in 
the  presence  of  the  great  love  and  the  perfect  sincerity 
of  "one  of  the  least  of  these." 

The  prettiest  stories  that  have  ever  been  written 
have  been  about  children;  the  most  beautiful  songs 
that  have  ever  been  sung  are  the  children's  songs. 
Art  and  literature  are  heavily  indebted  to  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  child,  and  in  the  more  practical  life  the 
busy  man  who  has  learned  how  to  live  finds  his  best 


10  *^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

recreation  in  the  companionship  of  children.  "I  love 
these  little  people,"  said  Dickens,  "and  it  is  not  a 
slight  thing  when  they  who  are  so  fresh  from  God 
love  us."  Some  one  has  said  that  children  have  not 
been  sent  for  the  mere  purpose  of  keeping  up  the  race, 
but  that  they  were  given  to  enlarge  our  hearts;  to 
make  us  unselfish  and  full  of  kindly  sympathies  and 
affections;  to  give  our  souls  higher  aims;  to  call  out 
all  our  faculties  to  extended  enterprise  and  exertion; 
and  to  bring  round  our  firesides  bright  faces,  happy 
smiles,  and  loving,  tender  hearts.  "My  soul,"  said 
the  same  writer,  "blesses  the  Great  Father  every  day 
that  He  has  gladdened  the  earth  with  little  children." 
How  often,  in  the  homes  of  the  world,  has  that 
same  song  of  gratitude  been  sung!  How  often  have 
careless  men  and  reckless  women  been  drawn  from 
the  danger  line  by  the  recollection  of  the  little  one 
whose  future  is  dependent  upon  them! 

Recently  a  number  of  men  from  various  walks  of 
life  were  assembled  in  a  hotel  corridor.  They  en- 
gaged in  a  discussion  of  the  scriptures,  and  it  developed 
that  many  of  these  men  had  been  careful  readers. 
Someone  asked  for  opinions  as  to  the  most  beautiful 
passage  in  the  Bible.  Several  learned  responses  were 
given.  One  man,  well  known  among  western  plains- 
men, and  one  who  was  not  suspected  of  being  a  great 
student  of  the  Bible,  surprised  his  companions  by  say- 
ing: "Boys,  there  are  just  two  things  in  that  old  book 
that  I  never  get  tired  hearing  of.  One  is  the  story  of 
that  little  fellow,  Samuel;  and  I  shall  never  forget  the 
picture  in  my  good  old  mother's  Bible,  showing  Samuel 
sitting  in  his  little  bed,  and,  in  response  to  God's  call, 
saying,  'Speak,  Lord,  thy  servant  heareth.'  " 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  11 

"But,"  continued  the  plainsman,  "the  prettiest  pen 
picture  ever  drawn  is  to  be  found  in  the  tenth  chapter 
of  Mark." 

His  companions  thought  to  test  him,  and  one  of 
them  asked:  "How  do  you  know  it  is  in  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Mark?" 

"I'll  show  you,"  said  the  plainsman;  and  going  to 
the  check  room,  he  delved  into  a  capacious  gripsack, 
and  drew  forth  a  well  fingered  Bible.  Standing  in 
the  center  of  that  group  of  men,  the  plainsman  read: 

And  they  brought  young  children  to  him  that 
he  should  touch  them;  and  his  disciples  rebuked 
those  that  brought  them. 

But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  he  was  much  dis- 
pleased, and  said  unto  them:  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not, 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  Verily  I  say 
tmto  you:  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  king- 
dom of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter 
therein. 

And  he  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands 
upon  them  and  blessed  them. 

Impressed  with  the  plainsman's  unsuspected  famil- 
iarity with  the  scriptures,  his  companions  agreed  that, 
after  all,  their  unlettered  friend  was  not  far  from  the 
right  when  he  said  that  the  Sweetest  Singer  of  all  the 
ages  gave  to  men  the  sweetest  song  of  all  the  years 
when  He  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands 
upon   them  and   blessed   them,  saying:      Suffer   the 


12  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  *' 

little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  noti 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"They  are  idols  of  hearts  and  of  households; 
They  are  angels  of  God  in  di^uise; 
His  sunlight  still  sleeps  in  their  tresses, 
His  glory  still  gleams  in  their  eyes; 
These  truants  from  home  and  from  heaven 
They  have  made  me  more  manly  and  mild; 
And  I  know  now  how  Jesus  could  Uken 
The  Kingdom  of  God  to  a  child." 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »'  13 


IN  THE  KINGDOM  OF  NEVER  GROW  OLD 

IHAT  IS  a  pretty  scene  in  a  simple  little 
play  where  the  happy  Irish  lover  throws 
open  the  gates  of  "The  Kingdom."  This 
Irish  lover,  a  man  who  had  learned,  as 
Francis  Murphy  would  say,  that  "it's  time  enough 
to  be  dignified  when  you're  dead,"  had  ever  kept 
in  touch  with  the  children,  and  had  not  permitted 
himself  to  become  a  stranger  to  the  things  that 
delight  the  children's  hearts.  By  chance  he  meets 
a  charming  girl  with  whom  he  falls  desperately 
in  love.  He  mentions  the  famous  old  tale  of 
"Three  Bears  and  Silver  Locks,"  and  his  sweet- 
heart asks  him  if  he  is  interested  in  such  stories. 
He  confesses  that  he  has  made  a  practice  of  staying 
the  ravages  of  time  by  keeping  in  touch  with  the 
simple  things  of  life,  and  mingling  with  the  little 
ones.  He  tells  her  that  it  is  just  such  things  as 
these  that  keep  men  and  women  young,  adding  that 
these  pastimes  are  merely  journeys  to  "The  King- 
dom." The  girl  drops  into  a  seat  and  says,  "Tell 
me  the  story  of  'Three  Bears  and  Silver  Locks.' "  The 
young  Irishman  begins  the  tale,  and  when  its  con- 
clusion is  anticipated  by  his  fair  listener,  showing 
that  she  has  a  familiarity  with  such  stories,  her 
lover  takes  a  seat  beside  her,  and  with  a  fine  display 
of  enthusiasm,  says:  "You  are  one  of  us;  you,  too, 
are  of  the  Kingdom!" 

Stage  folks  have  no  monopoly  in  the  touring  of 
this  kingdom — The   Kingdom  of   Never   Grow   Old. 


14  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

There  are  many  busy  men  and  women  in  this  world 
today,  as  there  have  been  busy  men  and  w^omen 
in  the  past,  who  make  frequent  journeys  to  those 
hallowed  precincts.  "And  a  little  child  shall  lead 
them"  is  not  all  a  prophecy;  it  is  history.  Some  of 
the  world's  strongest  men  have  been  led  by  little 
ones;  not  led  from  the  path  of  duty,  but  kept  in 
that  path  by  the  influence  which  the  association 
with  little  children  had  upon  their  lives.  Several 
years  ago  when  Benjamin  Harrison,  then  president 
of  the  United  States,  visited  Omaha,  he  addressed 
a  great  gathering  of  children  upon  the  high  school 
grounds.  Always  happy  in  his  speeches  to  men. 
General  Harrison  showed  that  he  was,  as  well,  a 
children's  orator.  He  knew  how  to  command  their 
attention;  he  knew  how  to  touch  their  hearts;  and 
president  though  he  was,  he  made  the  bold  con- 
fession, then  and  there,  that  he  had  made  it  a  practice 
to  seek  the  company  of  little  children  in  order  to 
obtain  the  relaxation  necessary  in  a  busy  career, 
and  that  in  the  company  of  these  little  ones  he 
had  found  the  very  best  in  life. 

The  man  who  confines  his  association  to  grown 
folks,  ignores  opportunities  for  developing  the  mind, 
for  rejuvenating  the  soul,  and  for  renewing  faith  in 
mankind.  In  the  marts  of  trade  there  is  selfishness 
and  brutality;  in  the  political  arena  there  is  hypoc- 
risy and  insincerity;  in  the  social  circle  there  is 
double  dealing  and  lack  of  candor;  but  in  the  temple 
of  childhood  there  is  sincerity  and  truth;  in  The 
Kingdom  of  Never  Grow  Old  there  is  relief  from 
the  meanness  and  the  malice  of  the  world. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  15 

He  who  would  seek  rest  from  the  toil  and  the 
anxiety  of  a  busy  life  may  find  it  if  he  but  cast  dull 
dignity  to  the  winds,  and  cultivate  the  acquaintance 
of  the  little  ones.  The  weary  man  of  business  renews 
his  lease  upon  Ufe,  and  warms  the  cockles  of  his 
heart;  he  is  brought  closer  to  nature,  closer  to  truth, 
closer  to  God— as  he  strolls  in  the  sunbeams  that 
dance  among  the  trees  and  flowers  thriving  about 
the  palaces  of  nature  in  The  Kingdom  of  Never  Grow 
Old. 

In  the  ballads  and  the  tales  of  the  nursery  there 
are  lessons  of  life  and  of  love;  lessons  of  philosophy 
and  of  logic;  lessons  of  truth  and  of  poetry;  there  is 
simple  eloquence  and  real  earnestness.  Those  who 
have  not  accustomed  themselves  to  wander  in  this 
kingdom  are  not  able  to  appreciate  these  things, 
but  many  whose  feet  are  famiUar  with  the  ground 
will  bear  testimony  to  these  claims. 

There  are  men  who  could  not,  with  patience,  sit 
through  an  evening  of  Wagner;  men  who  do  not 
know  one  of  music's  notes  from  another,  and  yet, 
if  one  doubts  that  there  is  music  in  the  hearts  of  these 
men,  let  him,  some  winter  evening,  peer  through 
the  portals  of  "The  Kingdom,"  and  he  will  be  given 
a  touch  of  the  soul  of  music,  compared  with  which 
the  products  of  "The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's 
halls,"  are  hardly  worthy  of  mention.  Some  of 
these  notes  may  grate  harshly  upon  the  ears  of  the 
Wagnerian;  the  disciple  of  Thomas  may  imagine 
that  he  detects  indications  of  discord;  the  follower 
of  Beethoven  may  assert  that  all  is  not  harmony; 
but  those  who,  like  the  Irish  lover,  are  of  "The  King- 
dom," will  be  able  to  grasp  the  celestial  character 


16  **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

of  the  melody.  There  is  real  music  in  the  "patty 
cake,  patty  cake"  of  "the  baker's  man;"  in  the  "trot, 
trot,  trot,"  on  the  journey  to  "Banbury  Cross";  in 
the  "hey  diddle,  diddle"  of  "the  cat  and  the  fiddle"; 
in  the  "Sing  a  song  of  sixpence,  a  pocket  full  of  rye, 
four  and  twenty  blackbirds  baking  in  a  pie,"  or  in 
"Onery,  orry,  ickery,  Ann;  Fillison,  FoUison,  Nich- 
olas, John;  Queevey,  quavey,  EngUsh  navy,  rinktum, 
tinktum;  Buck." 

The  incident  of  the  little  child  whose  heart  was 
"beatin'  hard"  for  its  "daddy  to  come  home,"  re- 
minds us  that  as  the  forget-me-nots  of  the  angels, 
strewn  before  the  footsore  man,  make  life's  pathway 
easier  to  tread,  these  little  "heart-beats"  make  them- 
selves felt  over  the  broad  expanse  that  separates 
the  nursery  from  the  counting  room,  spur  men  to 
greater  effort,  and  inspire  them  to  nobler  purpose. 

The  man  in  the  Kentucky  hemp  fields,  who  had 
wandered  in  a  maze  of  doubt  and  skepticism,  was 
so  impressed  with  his  new  found  affection  for  a 
noble  woman  that  he  finally  planted  his  feet  firmly 
upon  "faith's  foundation  stones"  because  he  con- 
ceived that  there  must  be  a  good  God,  else  there 
could  not  be  such  a  holy  love.  Within  the  radius 
of  the  child's  pure  affection,  within  the  embrace  of 
the  Uttle  arms,  within  the  feel  of  the  little  "heart- 
beats," there  is  no  room  for  doubt,  there  is  no  place 
for  skepticism.  The  purity,  the  love,  the  faith  of 
"one  of  the  least  of  these"  points  as  unmistakably 
to  divine  origin  as  the  needle  points  to  the  pole. 

Love  and  faith,  and  hope  and  charity,  all  these, 
as  well  as  rest  and  recreation,  await  those  who  would 
make  the  happy  pilgrimage  over  hallowed  ground — 
in  The  Kingdom  of  Never  Grow  Old. 


^'MY  HEART'5  A  BEATIN'  HARD  if     ^ 
ll;  FOR.  MY  U\DDYTOCX)ME  HQMEfl|     A 


-%.c^ 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  17 


AND  A  LITTLE  CHILD  SHALL  LEAD  THEM 

NE  page  of  a  Chicago  periodical  edited  by 
one  of  the  ablest  newspaper  men  was 
recently  devoted  to   the  following: 

IN  MEMORIAM— Bom  March  20.  Died 
March  24.  His  coming  was  a  joy  to  his  mother 
and  me.  His  going  has  helped  us  to  under- 
stand some   things  we  did  not  know. 

To  some  this  language  may  need  translation;  but 
it  will  be  understood  by  the  loving  parents  of  living 
children,  and  it  will  be  self-interpreting  as  it  strikes 
a  holy  and  sympathetic  chord  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  have  loved  and  lost. 

"Language  grows  out  of  life — out  of  its  agonies 
and  ecstacies,  its  wastes  and  its  weariness.  Every 
language  is  a  temple  in  which  the  soul  of  those  who 
speak  it  is  enshrined."  How  many,  many,  fathers 
and  mothers  whose  souls  are  enshrined  in  the  temple 
where  was  spoken  this  eloquent  memorial  to  a  Uttle 
one,  whose  coming  revealed  the  very  heights  of  love 
and  whose  going  showed  what  death  really  is! 

The  boy  in  his  teens  thinks  he  loves  when  for  the 
first  time  he  makes  bold  to  go  "gathering  the  myrtle 
with  Mary,  Mary  whose  heart  he  knows";  the  youth 
thinks  he  loves  when  he  presses  the  engagement 
ring  upon  the  finger  of  his  sweetheart,  and  seals  it 
with  a  kiss;  the  young  man  thinks  he  loves  when  he 


18  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

leads  his  bride  to  the  altar.     And  they  all  do  love 
in  their  own  way,  and  in  the  way  of  the  moment. 

But  wait  imtil  the  baby  comes!  There  is  love! 
There  the  love  for  the  bride  is  increased  a  thousand- 
fold, and  consecrated  in  the  love  for  the  mother,  while 
in  the  new-found  affection  for  a  little  child  portals 
seem  to  have  opened  upon  new  and  strange  yet  holy 
ground.  How  the  world  laughs  at  the  antics  of  a 
man  who  for  the  first  time  finds  himself  to  be  a 
father!  But  who  cares  for  the  good-natured  laugh- 
ter of  the  world?  Certainly  not  the  man  who,  after 
hours,  and  perhaps  days,  of  keen  anxiety  for  the 
fate  of  his  sweetheart,  who  has  gone  into  the  valley 
of  death's  dark  shadow  in  response  to  love's  stem 
call,  has  been  assured  that  "all's  well."  He  has  ob- 
tained a  glimpse  of  real  life;  in  his  horizon  there 
is  not  one  single  cloud,  the  birds  are  singing,  there 
is  music  everywhere.  He  breaks  from  his  work  and 
finds  himself  hurrying  to  the  bedside  of  the  old  love 
and  to  the  cradleside  of  the  new  love.  As  a  rule  he 
is  undignified  in  his  haste;  but  what  does  a  new- 
made  father  care  for  dignity?  He  rather  enjoys 
the  jests  of  his  associates;  for  just  as  the  young 
lover  likes  to  talk  about  his  sweetheart,  the  older 
lover  likes  to  talk  about  his  babe.  It  is  a  striking 
fact  that  although  history  may  repeat  itself,  as  it 
has  in  many  homes,  though  child  after  child  may 
be  bom,  it  is  the  same  old  story.  The  same  birds 
are  singing,  the  same  music  everywhere  for  the  father 
who  finds  himself  hastening  to  his  home  to  greet 
one  of  those  who  have  been  likened  to  God's  apostles 
sent  forth  day  by  day  to  preach  of  love,  and  hope, 
and  peace.  Wait  imtil  the  baby  comes,  and  that 
is  love! 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  19 

But  if  you  would  learn  even  more  than  that  of 
love,  wait  until  the  baby  goes!  There  is  the  voice- 
less grief  that  "whispers  the  o'er-fraught  heart  and 
bids  it  break."  But  there  is  the  grief  that  makes 
the  tie  that  binds  two  hearts  closer  than  any  mar- 
riage words  yet  spoken  by  a  priest;  the  thing  that 
"knits  two  hearts  in  closer  bonds  than  happiness 
ever  can,"  for  "common  sufferings  are  far  stronger 
links  than  common  joys." 

Do  we  not  know  that  a  grave  can  not  be  so  small 
that  it  fails  to  find  in  the  parents'  hearts  the  place 
which  in  God's  infinite  wisdom  has  been  set  aside 
for  the  memorial  to  every  child  of  love?  The  parent 
obtains  new  interest  in  every  day's  development  of 
the  child  from  birth  to  the  limits  of  babyhood;  he 
obtains  new  interest  in  every  year's  development 
of  the  boy,  whether  it  be  from  kilts  to  knee  pants, 
from  knee  pants  to  long  trousers,  or  from  smooth 
face  to  the  first  touch  of  downy  beard;  and  every 
tmn  carries  a  new  sensation  to  the  parent's  heart. 
How  often,  also,  has  the  sentence  passed  between 
father  and  mother  as  they  anxiously  bent  over  the 
sick  child's  bed:  "He's  just  at  the  age  when  it  will 
be  hardest  to  lose  him."  But  it  is  because  the 
parents  love  best  the  child  that  is  sick  that  they 
think  death  at  that  age  would  be  the  "hardest." 
At  any  age,  and  at  all  ages,  from  babyhood  even 
unto  manhood,  the  death  of  a  child  calls  into  the 
parent's  heart,  and  the  parent's  heart,  always  on 
guard  in  the  child's  interest,  makes  prompt  and 
grief-stricken  response. 

Let   those  whose  hearts   do  not   yet  wear   these 
scars  imagine  what  they  would  do  if  asked  to  choose 


20  ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

lone  of  their  children  whom  they  could  best  spare. 
There  is  an  old  story,  told  in  homely  verse,  that 
illustrates  this  point  well.  A  father  and  a  mother 
had  been  offered  a  house  and  land,  if  in  return  from 
out  their  seven  children  one  child  should  be  given 
to  the  donor.  Poverty  seems  to  have  pressed 
heavily  upon  that  home,  and  seven  mouths  to  feed 
brought  great  responsibilities.  The  mother  sug- 
gested that  they  choose  among  the  little  ones  as 
they  slept;  so,  walking  hand  in  hand,  they  surveyed 
the  inmates  of  their  household.  First  to  the  cradle 
where  the  baby  slept;  then  "beside  the  trundle-bed, 
where  one  long  ray  of  lamplight  shed  athwart  the 
boyish  faces  there,  in  sleep  so  pitiful  and  fair";  and 
then  from  one  to  the  other,  from  the  first-born  to 
the  "Benjamin"  of  the  flock,  the  father  and  mother 
went,  declaring  beside  each  sleeping  form:  "Not 
this  one;  no,  not  this  one."  Then  turning  even  to 
where  "poor  Dick,  bad  Dick,  the  wayward  son, 
turbulent,  reckless,  idle  one,"  slept  in  spite  of  a 
conscience  bad,  they  asked:  "Could  he  be  spared?" 
and  answered:  "Nay,  He  who  gave,  bade  us  befriend 
him  to  his  grave;  only  a  mother's  heart  can  be  pa- 
tient enough  for  such  as  he."  The  homely  verse 
tells  us  that  v/hen  the  tour  of  inspection  had  been 
concluded,  "they  wrote  in  courteous  way  they  could 
not  drive  one  child  away." 

There  is,  indeed,  not  one  to  spare,  until  there 
comes  the  command  to  which  all  mortals  must  in 
sorrow  bow.  Keen  though  that  sorrow,  large  though 
the  responsibilities  which  the  child  brought,  great 
though  the  sacrifices  it  required,  we  would  not,  if 
we  could,  part  with  the  sorrows,  if  by  doing  so  we 


*'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  21 

must  blot  out  the  great  fact  that  a  little  child  came 
into  our  lives  to  teach  us  the  way  to  love,  to  show 
us  the  way  to  live,  and  to  tell  us  the  way  to  die. 

And  there  a  Uttle  child  shall  lead  them!  There 
many  a  little  child  has  led  them.  There  the  boasted 
knownothingism  of  the  agnostic  or  the  proud  decla- 
mations of  the  infidel  leave  men  helpless  and 
hopeless,  while  the  faith  of  the  mothers  points  un- 
erringly to  the  skies.  There,  "as  the  disciples 
found  angels  at  the  grave  of  Him  they  loved,  we 
could  find  them,  too,  but  that  our  eyes  are  too  full 
of  tears  for  seeing."  There — even  in  the  darkest 
night  of  death — "hope  sees  a  star,  and  listening 
love  can  hear  the  rustle  of  a  wing." 


22  "Of  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  " 


A   "STOLEN"    FLOWER 

OME  time  ago  a  newspaper  cablegram  told 
of  the  depth  of  grief  and  tenderness  shown 
by  a  Paris  street  urchin.  That  cablegram 
follows: 

"Every  Sunday  for  three  months  past  a  little 
boy  of  twelve  has  been  observed  in  a  cem- 
etery kneeling  at  a  grave  marked  only  by 
a  wooden  cross.  One  Sunday  he  knelt  longer 
than  usual,  weeping  convulsively.  At  last  he 
looked  about  him.  Near  by  was  a  richly  carved 
tomb  with  fresh  lilacs  and  other  beautiful  flow- 
ers on  it.  He  gazed  at  the  tomb  several 
minutes,  then  went  to  it,  took  the  greater  part 
of  the  flowers,  and  was  carrying  them  to  the 
poor  little  grave,  when  he  met  a  policeman, 
who  asked  what  he  was  doing.  The  child 
dropped  his  burden  in  fright.  On  being  taken 
to  the  police  station,  he  explained  in  piteous 
fashion  that  three  months  ago  he  lost  his  brother 
whom  he  dearly  loved.  On  looking  at  his  grave 
and  seeing  those  around  all  covered  with  flowers 
he  thought  how  cold  he  must  be  and  had  taken 
the  flowers  to  cover  him." 

A  beautiful  incident,  indeed.  Something  like  it 
occurred  not  long  ago  at  Prospect  Hill  cemetery 
in  the  city  of  Omaha.  Teddy  and  Lee,  two  little 
brothers,  were  wandering  one  Sabbath  day  among 
the  graves  of  that  old  resting  place.     None  of  their 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  23 

loved  ones  lay  in  that  city  of  the  dead,  but  they 
were,  nevertheless,  interested  visitors  to  that  solemn 
place. 

Prospect  Hill  is  filled  with  flowers  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  there  was  no  exception  to  the  rule  on  this  par- 
ticular occasion. 

In  their  stroll  these  lads  came  across  one  little 
grave  that  was  conspicuous  because  of  the  absence 
of  any  marble  slab.  No  blossoms  rested  upon  this 
little  mound. 

Teddy,  the  younger  brother,  a  lad  of  perhaps 
seven  years,  hastily  looking  about  him  to  see  that 
no  one  was  watching,  slipped  over  to  a  grave  that 
was  covered  with  costly  roses.  He  selected  two 
beautiful  flowers,  and,  holding  them  under  his  coat, 
crept  up  to  the  neglected  little  grave,  and,  as  ten- 
derly as  a  gentle  woman  would  soothe  the  dying 
moments  of  her  child,  he  placed  the  flowers  upon 
the  tiny  mound. 

The  two  brothers  hurried  away.  Not  a  v/ord 
was  exchanged  until  they  reached  the  street  outside 
the  cemetery  grounds. 

Then  the  younger,  addressing  the  elder  brother, 
said:    "That  wasn't  stealing,  was  it?" 

Promptly  the  reply  cams:  "  'Course  it  wasn't. 
Don't  you  'spose  that  little  baby  had  just  as  much 
right  to  a  flower  as  some  of  them  grown  folks?" 

It  wasn't  stealing,  either,  as  every  man  of  blood 
and  brain  will  cheerfully  testify. 


24  '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  CHILDREN 

[EWSPAPER  dispatches  said  recently  that 
under  the  auspices  of  certain  educators, 
nursery  rhymes  are  to  be  stricken  from 
the  list  of  things  suitable  for  the  minds  of 
children.  Some  writers  made  vigorous  protest,  and 
in  doing  so  spoke  for  the  countless  thousands 
who  are  not  too  dignified  to  confess  membership 
in  the  free  and  independent  order  of  the  simple- 
hearted,  and  who  do  not  have  their  heads  so  high 
in  the  clouds  that  they  have  failed  to  observe  the 
things  that  have  moved  the  world,  and  have  moulded 
men  and  women  for  the  world's  betterment. 

Why  should  the  nursery  rhyme  be  abolished? 
Because  it  sounds  foolish  to  the  abolitionist?  Apply 
that  rule  rigidly,  and  there  will  be  little  left  in  liter- 
ature but  the  cyclopedia,  and — carried  to  its  logical 
result — the  rule  would  soon  leave  the  cyclopedia  a 
mass  of  shreds  and  patches. 

The  nursery  rhyme  is  an  essential  part  of  a  child's 
education,  and  it  is  indispensable  to  the  parent  who 
fraternizes  with  his  offspring,  and  finds  pleasure 
in  the  simple  songs  and  tales  that  delight  the  child's 
heart.  It  may  be  defended  on  broad  educational 
lines,  or,  so  far  as  it  interests — and  instructs  by 
interesting — the  children,  on  literary  merit,  even  as 
it  may  be  justified  by  the  pleasure  it  gives  to  the 
children,  and  the  softening  influence  it  has  upon 
the  character  of  the  adult  who  learns  it,  loves  it, 
and  doesn't  care  to  forget  it. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  25 

Education  does  not  begin  with  Shakespeare,  nor 
with  Browning,  nor  even  with  the  alphabet.  In 
the  language  of  one  who  may  be  counted  among  the 
champions  of  the  nursery  rhymes:  "Education 
begins  with  a  mother's  look,  with  a  father's  nod  of 
approbation  or  a  sign  of  reproof;  with  a  sister's 
gentle  pressure  of  the  hand,  or  a  brother's  noble 
act  of  forbearance;  with  handfuls  of  flowers  in  green 
dells,  or  hills  and  daisy  meadows;  with  bird's  nests 
admired,  but  not  touched;  with  creeping  ants  and 
almost  imperceptible  emmets;  with  humming  bees 
and  glass  bee  hives;  with  pleasant  walks,  with  shady 
lanes,  and  with  thoughts  directed  in  sweet  and  kindly 
tones  and  words  to  Nature,  to  beauty,  to  acts  of 
benevolence,  to  deeds  of  kindness,  and  to  the  source 
of  all  good— to  God  Himself."  And  the  nursery 
rhyme  does  all  that. 

The  men  and  women  of  today  were  reared  on 
nursery  rhymes,  and  after  recognizing  all  their 
merits  and  demerits,  they  are  really  a  fine  lot  of 
people.  We  recognize  the  educational  principle  of 
the  nursery  rhyme  in  the  kindergarten,  in  the  his- 
torical novel,  and  in  the  art — for  it  is  an  art — which 
some  men  and  women  writers  have  of  "humanizing" 
animals,  describing  their  ways,  their  wants,  and  their 
characteristics  in  stories  told  by  the  animals  them- 
selves. We  may  even  say  that  the  principle  is 
recognized  in  poetry,  for  the  poets  who  have  left 
their  imprint  in  politics  as  well  as  in  Uterature  are 
those  who  have  written  of  the  simple  things  of  life, 
and  written  in  a  simple  way,  directly,  as  it  were, 
from  the  heart  of  one  human  being  to  the  heart  of 
another  human  being. 


26  ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '^ 

Some  men  can  swim  as  soon  as  they  strike  water, 
but  most  of  us  must  first  wade.  Some  instinctively 
turn  to  Browning,  but  most  of  us  must  be  led  up 
gradually,  perhaps  first  drawn  in  that  direction  by 
coming  in  contact  with  vagabond  sentences,  or  by 
having  its  beauties  pointed  out  by  some  master  hand. 
Men  are  often  led  to  a  study  of  literature  by  a  speech 
or  sermon  that  has  presented  some  literary  fact  in 
a  captivating  way;  and  the  historical  novel  has  its 
uses,  because  it  has  often  aroused  the  interest  of  its 
readers  and  prompted  them  to  search  the  pertinent 
history — which  search  will,  by  the  way,  show  that 
some  of  the  authors  of  these  novels  take  a  great 
many  liberties  with  history. 

David  Swing  said  that  the  writings  of  Shakespeare, 
of  Homer,  of  Milton,  passed  into  all  languages, 
because  the  great  thoughts  of  those  writers  belong 
to  the  human  heart;  that  "all  the  thoughts  of  Hter- 
ature  spring  from  the  soul,  that  is,  from  the  emotions, 
from  the  sentiments,  rather  than  from  the  intellect 
alone";  also  that  literature  is  "nothing  else  than 
thought  ornamented."  That  being  true,  the  nursery 
rhyme  is  entitled  to  rank  as  literature.  To  be  sure, 
it  is  not  entirely  satisfying  when  one  has  passed  the 
age  for  which  that  Uterature  was  prepared;  although 
even  the  well  lettered  man  may  yet  derive,  at  times, 
great  enjoyment  in  reading  or  reciting  these  merry 
jingles  to  little  ones,  just  as  the  professor  in  algebra 
might  find  pleasure  in  unravelling  the  mysteries  of 
the  multiplication  table  to  one  to  whom  that  table 
is  yet  a  puzzle,  or  as  the  disciple  of  Byron,  of  Moore, 
of  Coleridge,  of  Wordsworth,  or  of  Tennyson  might 


'*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >>       27 

find  pleasure  in  leading  the  young  along  the  paths 
made  beautiful  by  the  pen  of  humbler  poets. 

Froebel,  the  founder  of  the  kindergarten,  is  known 
the  world  over,  and  in  centuries  to  come  little  chil- 
dren will  lisp  his  name  as  that  of  one  of  the  great 
benefactors  of  the  human  race.  Froebel  said:  "What 
the  child  imitates,  he  begins  to  understand.  Let 
him  represent  the  flying  of  birds,  and  he  enters 
partially  into  the  life  of  birds.  Let  him  imitate  the 
rapid  motion  of  fishes  in  the  water,  and  his  sympathy 
with  fishes  is  quickened.  Let  him  reproduce  the 
activities  of  farmer,  miller,  and  baker,  and  his  eyes 
open  to  the  meaning  of  their  work.  In  one  word, 
let  him  reflect  in  his  play  the  varied  aspects  of  life, 
and  his  thought  will  begin  to  grapple  with  their 
significance." 

There  are  little  boys  who  are  required  by  thought- 
less parents  to  play  alone — if,  indeed,  their  pastimes 
may  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  play.  But  few 
rays  of  sunshine  are  permitted  to  fall  into  their 
lives.  They  are  strangers  to  the  children's  rhymes 
and  tales,  because  within  their  parents'  souls  no 
music  dwells.  When  they  are  grown  these  children 
may  amount  to  something  so  far  as  real  service  to 
the  world  is  concerned,  but  if  so  it  will  be  because, 
sooner  or  later,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  their  emi- 
nently practical  parents,  they  have  learned  that 
"Whatever  mine  ears  can  hear,  whatever  mine  eyes 
can  see,  in  Nature  so  bright  with  beauty  and  light, 
has  a  message  of  love  for  me!"— and  that,  by  the 
way,  is  one  of  these  nursery  rhymes  which  are  to 
be  barred. 


28  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


The  imagination  of  the  child  must  be  awakened. 
The  nursery  rhyme  operates  upon  the  little  one  as 
simshine  acts  upon  the  plant— "In  the  heart  of  a 
seed,  buried  deep,  so  deep,  a  dear  little  plant  lay 
fast  asleep.  'Wake!'  said  the  sunshine,  'and  creep 
to  the  light.'  'Wake!'  said  the  voice  of  the  rain- 
drops bright.  The  Uttle  plant  heard,  and  it  rose  to 
see  what  the  wonderful  outside  world  might  be." 
And  that  is  another  of  the  rhymes  that  are  to  be 
barred  from  the  men  and  women  of  the  future! 

Some  of  the  simplest  verses  have  drawn  the  chil- 
dren's attention  to  eternal  facts.  There  are  some 
imobserving  men  who  do  not  know  that  one  partic- 
ular little  star  seems  to  act  as  the  moon's  chief-of- 
stafif.  In  a  nursery  rhyme  the  attention  of  children 
is  riveted  upon  this  fact:  "Last  night  I  looked 
out  of  my  window  just  before  I  repeated  my  prayer, 
and  the  moon  with  the  star  close  beside  her 
was  climbing  high  up  in  the  air.  Did  God  make 
the  Uttle  star  baby  'cause  the  moon  was  so  lonely 
up  there?  Yes,  God  made  the  little  star  baby  'cause 
the  moon  was  so  lonely  up  there." 

One  of  the  prettiest  thoughts  relates  to  the 
similarity  between  the  color  of  the  sky  and  the  color 
of  the  violet,  and  is  conveyed  in  homely  nursery 
verse:  "I  know,  blue,  modest  violet,  gleaming  at 
dewy  morn,  I  know  the  place  you  came  from,  and 
the  way  that  you  were  born;  when  God  cut  the 
holes  in  the  heavens,  to  let  the  stars  shine  through, 
He  let  the  scraps  fall  down  to  earth,  and  those  Uttle 
scraps  were  you." 

There  are  many  grown  men  and  women  who 
could    learn    valuable   lessons    by   a    study    of    these 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  29 

nursery  rhymes.  They  cultivate  sweet  thoughts  in 
the  hearts  of  the  Httle  ones,  and  inspire  them  to 
good  purpose.  How  would  we  instruct  the  little  one 
in  love,  in  duty,  and  in  courage  in  better  form  than 
is  given  in  the  nursery  rhyme:  "Oh,  Daffy-down- 
dilly!  so  brave  and  so  true,  I  wish  all  were  like 
you;  so  ready  for  duty  in  all  sorts  of  weather,  and 
showing  forth  courage  and  beauty  together."  Or, 
as  in  that  other  nursery  rhyme:  "Come,  my  love, 
and  do  not  spurn  from  a  little  flower  to  learn.  Let 
your  temper  be  as  sweet  as  the  lily  at  your  feet;  be 
as  gentle,  be  as  mild,  be  a  modest,  simple  child." 

How  would  we  tell  of  purity,  of  generosity,  and 
of  service  in  better  form  than: 

The  red  rose  says:  "Be  sweet," 

And  the  hly  bids:  "Be  pure;" 

The  hardy,  brave  chrysanthemum, 

"Be  patient  and  endure." 
The  violet  whispers:  "give, 

Nor  grudge,  nor  count  the  cost." 
The  woodbine,  "keep  on  blossoming. 

In  spite  of  chill  and  frost." 

How  would  we  admonish  contentment  in  better 
way  than: 

Whichever  way  the  wind  doth  blow 
Some  heart  is  glad  to  have  it  so. 
Then  blow  it  east,  or  blow  it  west, 
The  wind  that  blows,  that  wind  is  best. 

One  of  the  prettiest  stories  told  to  the  children 
is  entitled,  "To  whom  shall  we  give  thanks?"  The 
author  was  so  impractical  that  he  undertook  to  give 
thought  and  voice  to  many  inanimate  things.  It  is 
related  that  a  little  boy  quenched  his  raging  thirst  at 


30  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

a  pump,  and  then  gracefully  raising  his  cap,  thanked 
"Mr.  Pump";  but  the  pump  disclaimed  the  credit, 
and  said  that  he  only  helped  the  water  run.  Then 
the  little  boy  offered  thanks  to  "Cold  Water";  but 
"Cold  Water"  disclaimed  the  credit,  saying  that  the 
spring  on  the  hillside  sent  him  forth.  The  boy  said 
that  then  he'd  thank  the  spring;  but  the  spring  in 
turn  disclaimed  the  credit,  saying  that  it  could  do 
nothing  without  the  dew  and  rain.  The  boy  said 
he'd  thank  the  dew  and  rain,  but  they  also  declined 
to  accept  the  honor,  and  said  that  without  the  sun 
they  were  powerless.  Then  the  boy  turned  to  the 
sun  and  offered  "ten  thousand  thanks";  but  the 
sun  "with  blushing  face,"  admonished  the  little 
fellow  not  to  thank  him,  because  he  drew  the  draught 
from  the  ocean's  mighty  stores.  Then  turning  to  the 
ocean,  the  boy  offered  thanks,  but  the  ocean  echoed 
back,  "No  thanks  to  me,"  adding: 

"Not  unto  me,   but  unto  Him 

Who  formed  the  depths  in  which  I  lie, 
Go  give  thy  thanks,  my  little  boy — 

To  Him  who  will  thy  wants  supply." 
The  boy  took  off  his  cap  and  said, 

In  tones  so  gentle  and  subdued, 
"0  God,  I  thank  Thee  for  Thy  gift, 

Thou  art  the  giver  of  all  good." 

These  men  who  object  to  the  nursery  rhyme  will 
soon  object  to  "baby  talk,"  and  then  to  coddling, 
and  then  to  playthings;  and  then  instead  of  a  lot  of 
bright-faced  happy  children,  we  will  have  an  assort- 
ment of  dressed-up,  intellectual  midgets,  who  v/ill 
want  to  talk  to  us  of  "the  profoundness  of  profun- 
dity," when  we  would  prefer  to  have  them  tell  us 


(( 


Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  31 


about  "Onery,  orry,  ickery,  Ann;  Fillison,  FoUison, 
Nicholas,  John";  and  finally  there  will  be  no  love 
and  no  life  for  the  baby,  no  life  and  no  love  for  the 
parent,  and  no  fun  for  anyone  other  than  the  solemn 
owls  who  seem  to  obtain  pleasure  only  by  denying 
it  to  others. 

Long  ago  we  read:  "The  greatest  truths  are  the 
simplest;  and  so  are  the  greatest  men."  This  sen- 
tence was  once  forcefully  called  to  my  mind.  At  a 
private  picnic  party,  perhaps  seventy-five  people — 
among  them  many  children — were  gathered.  In  the 
party  was  a  man  of  wide  experience,  of  great  activity 
and  of  recognized  ability.  When  luncheon  was 
spread,  he  was  invited  to  take  the  place  of  honor  at 
the  head  of  the  snowy  cloth  spread  on  the  green 
grass.  I  have  heard  that  man  deliver  speeches  that 
swayed  multitudes,  but  I  was  never  so  impressed 
at  once  with  his  greatness  and  his  simplicity  as  I 
was  by  an  act  of  his  on  that  occasion.  Looking 
around  the  gathering,  he  asked:  "Do  you  remember 
the  little  verse  in  which  we  gave  thanks  at  our  last 
picnic?"  Many  children,  and  some  of  the  grown 
folks,  responded  in  the  affirmative.  It  was  one  of 
the  prettiest  sights  imaginable  when,  with  bowed 
heads,  the  men,  women  and  children  joined  with  this 
big,  powerful  man  in  repeating  the  simple  words: 


God  is  great,  and  God  is  good, 
And  we  thank  Him  for  this  food. 
By  His  hand  must  all  be  fed, 
Give  us,  Lord,  our  daily  bread. 


32  ''Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 


PANSIES    FOR    THOUGHTS 

|T  WAS  a  little  pansy,  faded  and  crushed 
between  the  well  creased  folds  of  a  letter. 
But  it  came  as  a  message  of  love  from 
dear  ones  dead  and  gone,  as  an  echo  of  the 
long  ago;  it  was  a  reminder  of  boyhood  days,  a 
souvenir  plucked  from  soil  made  sacred  by  memories 
of  the  loved  and  lost. 

A  sweet-faced  girl  of  the  "seventies,"  now  the 
mother  of  a  daughter  of  her  own,  had  visited  the 
old  home,  where  many  little  ones  had  spent  their 
happiest  days;  to  several  of  the  now  grown-up  "boys" 
she  wrote:  "I  went  to  Grandma's — now  owned  by 
strangers — and  had  a  drink  out  of  the  well.  Seeing 
the  old  place  made  me  think  of  you,  so  I  gathered 
a  few  flowers  to  send  to  you,  but  they  are  so  wilted 
this  morning,  I  will  just  enclose  a  sample." 

A  very  welcome  "sample,"  indeed!  And  how 
appropriate  that  a  little  pansy,  "purple  with  love's 
wound,"  should  serve  as  a  messenger  to  make  the 
call  to  Dreamland,  prompting  the  soliloquy:  "This 
is  the  place.  Stand  still,  my  steed — let  me  review 
the  scene,  and  summon  from  the  shadowy  past  the 
forms  that  once  have  been." 

The  Pansy!  "That's  for  thoughts."  Aye,  and 
tender  thoughts  they  are! 

"I  send  thee  pansies  while  the  year  is  young, 
Yellow  as  sunshine,  purple  as  the  night; 

Flowers  of  remembrance,  ever  fondly  sung 
By  all  the  chief  est  of  the  sons  of  light; 


\' 


<H,^.7^ 


bf 


ly 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  33 

And  if  in  recollection  lives  regret 

For  wasted  days,  and  dreams  that  were  not  true, 

I  tell  thee  that  the  'pansy  freaked  with  jet' 

Is  still  the  heart's-ease  that  the  poets  knew. 
Take  all  the  sweetness  of  a  gift  unsought, 
And  for  the  pansies  send  me  back  a  thought." 

It  is  not  a  wild  guess  that  if  one  who,  like  Sam 
Jones,  "don't  care  much  for  theology  or  botany,  but 
loves  religion  and  flowers,"  were  asked  to  name  his 
favorite  blossom,  he  would  answer  in  the  words  of 
a  woman  who  knew: 

"Of  all  the  bonny  buds  that  blow 

In  bright  or  cloudy  weather, 
Of  all  the  flowers  that  come  and  go 

The  whole  twelve  moons  together. 
The  little  purple  pansy  brings 
Thoughts  of  the  sweetest,  saddest  things." 

Just  how  the  name  of  "the  heart's-ease"  or 
"pansy"  happened  to  be  given  this  little  flower  is 
a  matter  for  the  imagination. 

"Heart's-ease!     One  could  look  for  half  a  day 
Upon  this  little  flower,  and  shape  in  fancy  out 
Full  twenty  different  tales  of  love  and  sorrow. 
That  gave  this  gentle  name." 

Miss  Deas,  in  her  interesting  little  book  called 
"Flower  Favorites,"  says:  "From  old  Parson  Her- 
rick  we  gather  that  in  his  day  the  pansies  were 
among  the  sweet-smelling,  old-fashioned  flowers 
that  went  to  compose  the  bridal  nosegay,  and  in 
his  quaint  v/ay  he  relates  how  once  pansies  were 
'frolic  virgins  who,  for  want  of  sweethearts,  ran  mad 
and  died,'  whereupon 


34  *^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

"  'Love,  in  pity  of  their  tears 

And  their  loss  in  blooming  years, 

For  their  restless  here-spent  hours 

Gave  them  heart's-ease  turned  to  flowers.'  " 

A  German  legend  is  to  the  effect  that  once  upon 
a  time  the  pansy  had  a  delightful  perfume;  that, 
growing  in  cultivated  fields  and  sought  after  both 
on  account  of  its  scent  and  supposed  healing  prop- 
erties, the  com  and  vegetables  were  in  consequence 
being  continually  trampled  and  destroyed.  Now 
this  so  grieved  the  tender  hearted  flower  that  it 
prayed  to  the  holy  trinity  to  take  away  from  it  its 
perfume.  The  prayer  was  granted,  and  from  that 
time  the  pansy  is  known  as  Dreifaltigkeit's  Blume, 
or  "Flower  of  the  Trinity." 

Primarily  the  name  "heart's-ease"  belonged  to  the 
wall  flower.  That  it  should  have  been  transferred 
as  an  alias  to  the  pansy  is  explained  by  Miss  Deas 
on  the  ground  that  at  one  time  both  these  flowers 
were  comprehended  among  the  violet  tribes. 

The  pansy  has  a  greater  variety  of  names  than 
any  other  flower.  We  know  it  commonly  as 
"pansy,"  and  occasionally  as  "heart's-ease,"  but 
Miss  Deas  tells  us  that  among  other  names  by  which 
it  is  known,  are  "The  Lady's  Flower,"  "The  Bird's 
Eye,"  "Pink  of  my  John,"  "Kit-Run- the-Street," 
"Flamy,"  "Cull-Me,"  or  "Call-Me,"  "Seed  Pansy," 
"Horse  Pansy" — horse  signifying  as  a  prefix  simply 
large.  Nursery  tradition  sees  in  the  center  of  the 
pansy  a  Uttle  woman,  and  in  some  parts  of  England 
it  is  known  as  "Three- Pretty- Faces- Under- One- 
Hood."  In  the  north  of  England  it  is  sometimes 
called  "Stepmother."     In  Germany  it  is  frequently 


*'  Of  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  '»  35 


styled  "Stiefmutterchen,"  and  in  some  parts  of 
Germany  the  yellow  species  is  called  "Schwagerin," 
or  "Sister-in-Law,"  typifying  jealousy.  In  some 
parts  of  the  Rhineland  the  people  give  this  little 
floral  favorite  the  fond  name — in  Bavaria  bestowed 
upon  the  honey-suckle — Jelanger-je-lieber,  "the 
longer,  the  dearer." 

Though  the  simplest  of  flowers,  the  pansy  is  famous 
in  song  and  story.  Shakespeare  called  it  "Love  in 
Idleness."  Leigh  Hunt  styled  it  "the  garden's 
Gem."  Ouseley  called  it  "the  Angel  of  the  Flowers," 
saying:  "The  beauteous  pansies  rise  in  purple,  gold, 
and  blue,  with  tints  of  rainbow  hue,  mocking  the 
sunset  skies." 

In  George  Chapman's  "All  Fools"  this  dialogue 
appears: 

Cornelia — "What  flowers  are  these?" 

Gazetta— "The  pansy  this." 

Cornelia— "Oh,  that's  for  lovers'  thoughts." 

Milton  wrote  of  the  "pansy  freaked  v/ith  jet,"  and 
called  it  one  of  the  flowers  that  "sad  embroidery 
wears,"  naming  it  among  those  he  v/ould  have  the 
valleys  produce  in  order  to  cover  the  hearse  of  Lycid. 

Tennyson  gave  the  pansy  some  attention  in  his 
"Gardener's  Daughter,"  and  Bret  Harte  wrote  in 
"The  Mountain  Heart's  Ease:" 

"By  scattered  rocks  and  turbid  waters  shining, 

By  furrowed  glade  and  dell, 
To  feverish  men  thy  calm,  sweet  face  upUfting, 

Thou  stayest  them  to  tell. 

The  delicate  thought  that  cannot  find  expression. 

For  ruder  speech  too  fair, 
That,  like  thy  petals,  trembles  in  possession, 

And  scatters  on  the  air." 


36  *^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

Swinburne  paid  a  tribute  to  this  little  flower  when 
he  wrote:  **Heart's-ease  or  pansy,  pleasure  or  thought, 
which  would  the  picture  give  us  of  these?  Surely 
the  heart  that   conceived  it  sought  heart's-ease." 

Robert  Buchanan  boasted  of  "Hugh  Sutherland's 
Pansies,"  telling  how  they  grew: 

"From  blue  to  deeper  blue,  in  midst  of  each 
A  golden  dazzle  like  a  glimmering  star, 
Each     broader,     bigger,     than     a     silver     crown; 
While  here  the  weaver  sat,  his  labor  done, 
Watching  his  azure  pets  and  rearing  them, 
Until  they  seemed  to  know  his  step  and  touch, 
And  stir  beneath  his  smile  like  living  things; 
The  very  sunshine  loved  them,  and  would  lie 
Here  happy,  coming  early,  lingering  late 
Because  they  were  so  fair." 

The  pansy  was  not  unknown  to  Shakespeare,  and 
in  Hamlet  he  makes  Ophelia,  fantastically  dressed 
with  straws  and  flowers,  say:  "There's  rosemary, 
that's  for  remembrance;  pray  you,  love,  remember; 
and  there  is  pansies,  that's  for  thoughts;"  Laertes 
remarking:  "A  document  in  madness— thoughts  and 
remembrance  fitted." 

In  "Midsummer  Night's  Dream"  Oberon,  the  fairy 
king,  sends  Puck,  his  favorite  page,  in  search  of  "the 
little  western  flower,"  in  order  that  he  may  drop  the 
blossoms'  Uquor  as  a  love-philtre  on  the  closed  eyes 
of  Titania,  his  queen.  The  king,  addressing  his  page, 
says: 

That  very  time  I  saw  (but  thou  couldst  not), 

Flying  between  the  cold  moon  and  the  earth, 

Cupid  all  arm'd:  a  certain  aim  he  took 

At  a  fair  vestal,  throned  by  the  west; 

And  loosed  his  love-shaft  smartly  from  his  bow, 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  37 


As  it  should  pierce  a  hundred  thousand  hearts; 

But  I  might  see  young  Cupid's  fiery  shaft 

Quenched  in  the  chaste  beams  of  the  wat'ry  moonj 

And  the  imperial  vot'ress  passed  on, 

In  maiden  meditation,  fancy  free. 

Yet  marked  I  where  the  bolt  of  Cupid  fell; 

It  fell  upon  a  little  western  flov/er — 

Before  milk-white,  now  purple  with  love's  wound — 

And  maidens  call  it  love-in-idleness. 

Fetch  me  that  flower,  the  herb  I  show'd  thee  once; 

The  juice  of  it,  on  sleeping  eyelids  laid, 

Will  make  or  man  or  woman  madly  dote 

Upon  the  next  live  creature  that  it  sees. 

Fetch  me  this  herb;  and  be  thou  here  again, 

Ere  the  leviathan  can  swim  a  league. 

The  pansy  figures  even  in  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress.  Christiana  and  her  children,  entering  the 
Valley  of  Humiliation,  espied  a  boy  feeding  his  father's 
sheep.  "The  boy  was  in  very  mean  clothes,  but  of 
a  fresh  and  v/ell-favored  countenance,  and  as  he  sat 
by  himself,  he  sung.  *Hark,'  said  Mr.  Great-Heart, 
*to  what  the  shepherd's  boy  saith.'  So  they  heark- 
ened, and  he  said: 

"  *He  that  is  down  needs  fear  no  fall;  he  that  is  low 
no  pride;  he  that  is  humble,  ever  shall  have  God  to 
be  his  guide. 

"  *I  am  content  with  what  I  have,  little  be  it  or 
much;  and.  Lord,  contentment  still  I  crave,  because 
thou  saves t  such. 

"  'Fullness  to  such  a  burden  is,  that  go  on  pil- 
grimage; here  little,  and  hereafter  bliss,  is  best  from 
age  to  age.' 

"Then  said  the  guide,  'Do  you  hear  him?  I  will 
dare  to  say  this  boy  Uves  a  merrier  life,  and  wears 


38  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

more  of  that  herb  called  "heart's-ease"  in  his  bosom, 
than  he  that  is  clad  in  silk  and  velvet.'  " 

The  pansy  emblemizes  the  "content  that  is  our 
best  having."  Many  of  those  who  were  boys  and 
girls  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  will  remember  a  Uttle 
story  that  appeared  in  one  of  McGuffey's  readers; 
it  is  a  story  that  might  well  be  read  and  re-read  to 
the  children  of  today.  It  is  related  that  one  bright 
June  morning  the  king  paid  a  visit  to  his  garden, 
and  found  there  many  complaints  and  great  grief. 
The  king  made  inquiries  of  a  number  of  flowers  as 
to  the  reason  for  their  sadness.  Discontent  was  the 
lot  of  all  save  one.  The  rose,  ungrateful  for  its  own 
great  beauty  and  fragrance,  was  sad  because  it  was 
not  like  one  of  its  neighbors.  Another  flower  was 
sad  because  it  was  not  a  rose.  The  apple  tree  was 
sad  because  it  could  not  bear  peaches,  the  peach  tree 
because  it  could  not  bear  pears.  After  the  king  had 
made  his  way  through  the  garden  and  listened  to 
complaint  after  complaint,  he  came  to  the  little 
pansy,  every  line  of  whose  calm,  sweet  face  spoke  of 
contentment.  "Why  are  you  so  happy  while  all  the 
rest  are  sad?"  asked  the  king.  The  pansy  replied: 
"Dear  king,  I  am  happy  because  I  know  you  wish 
me  to  be  only  a  little  pansy;  and  I  am  trying  to  be 
the  best  little  pansy  that  I  can." 

The  most  important  lesson  for  the  children  of 
today  may  be  learned  beside  the  pansy  bed. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  39 


THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF  PEACE 

WESTERN  newspaper  recently  printed  the 

following : 

"A  gentleman   traveling    through   the 

western  part  of  the  state  a  few  day^  ago 
stopped  off  to  look  at  a  piece  of  land  that 
was  offered  for  sale  at  a  bargain.  In  going  to 
the  place  it  was  necessary  to  cross  a  tract  where 
the  prairie  dogs  lived.  His  companion  had  a 
target  rifie,  and  requested  him  to  take  a  shot  at 
one  of  the  little  animals.  He  did  so  with  deadly 
result,  and  to  the  great  disturbance  of  his  own 
peace  of  mind.  The  wounded  beast  barely  had 
strength  to  crawl  into  its  den  probably  to  suffer 
and  die.  'Thinking  it  over  afterward,'  said  the 
gentleman,  and  he  was  a  gentlemen  through 
and  through,  *I  couldn't  figure  out  where  I  had 
profited  by  taking  the  life  of  one  of  God's 
happy  creatures,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  then 
and  there  never  to  be  guilty  of  such  wanton 
cruelty  again.  Even  a  prairie  dog  has  a  right  to 
Uve.'  " 

This  is  one  place  where  figures  won't  lie.  The 
best  mathematician  in  all  the  world  could  not  figure 
out  where  any  man  profits  by  the  needless  destruc- 
tion of  life.  It  is  one  of  the  good  signs  of  the  times 
that  men  are  thinking  more  and  more  these  days 
on  such  subjects,  and  that  there  is  a  growing  dispo- 
sition to  recognize  that  "even  a  prairie  dog  has  a 


40  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '* 

right  to  live."  Boys  having  concern  for  their  standing 
don't  tie  tin  cans  on  dogs'  tails  these  days;  and  those 
who  do  readily  discover  that  that  is  one  of  the  offenses 
not  condoned  under  the  "boys  will  be  boys"  rule. 

There  are  some  who,  coming  in  such  stern  contact 
with  the  miseries  of  men,  are  disposed  to  look  lightly 
upon  the  efforts  of  the  humane  society  and  kindred 
organizations,  contending  that  a.  more  important 
work  relates  to  the  immediate  wants  of  men  rather 
than  of  birds  and  beasts.  But  organizations  like 
the  humane  society  are  doing  a  very  necessary  work 
in  the  education  and  the  making  of  men.  Every 
man  whose  interest  has  been  enlisted  in  the  humane 
society's  work,  may  be  depended  upon  to  do  valiant 
service  for  humanity.  Every  child  who  has  been 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  is  wicked  to  destroy 
a  nest,  or  to  inflict  injury  upon  birds  or  beasts,  has 
been  made  familiar  with  the  paths  that  lead  to  that 
ever  increasing  circle  of  men  and  women  where  "I 
am  my  brother's  keeper"  is  the  alpha  and  the  omega 
of  the  ritual. 

Macaulay  told  us:  "The  Puritan  hated  bear  baiting, 
not  because  it  gave  pain  to  the  bear,  but  because 
it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectators."  But  today  those 
who  protest  against  the  pigeon  shoot,  the  docking 
of  the  horse's  tail,  the  high  check  rein,  the  needless 
slaughter  of  birds  or  beasts,  or  any  other  "detested 
sport  that  owes  its  pleasure  to  another's  pain"  rec- 
ognize not  only  the  injury  to  the  spectator,  but  the 
rights  of  the  dumb  creature.  The  fine  character 
created  by  Charles  Reade  gave  to  the  men  of  his  time 
and  to  the  men  of  all  time  an  excellent  rule  in 
"Put  yourself  in  His  Place." 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >'  41 

It  is  diflBcult  to  know  just  where  to  draw  the  line, 
and  the  conscience  of  each  individual  must  deter- 
mine. Some  may  not  yet  be  willing  to  go  quite  so 
far  as  the  man  who,  though  passionately  fond  of 
fishing,  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  his  own  consent 
to  run  a  sharp  pointed  hook  through  a  beautiful 
minnow.  When  his  companions  laughed  at  him  and 
told  him  that  it  did  not  hurt  the  minnow,  he  asked, 
"Then  what  makes  the  little  thing  squirm?"  Many 
yet  hold  that  the  high  check  rein  is  not  cruel,  but 
those  who  have  carefully  investigated  know  better; 
and  while  on  some  of  these  points  there  will  be  differ- 
ences, sooner  or  later  it  will  be  agreed  that  man's 
right  to  destroy  animal  life  terminates  with  his 
necessities  for  food,  and  that  he  cannot  find  justifica- 
tion for  the  destruction  of  such  life  in  the  desire  for 
sport. 

"The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,"  and  it 
is  an  interesting  study,  too.  Because  this  is  so,  it  is 
strange  that  there  are  not  more  students  in  that 
school.  Those  who  have  not  availed  themselves  of 
the  privilege  of  such  study  have  no  idea  what  a 
wonderfully  interesting  thing  it  is.  They  can  learn 
so  many  things  they  never  dreamed  of  before.  And 
once  they  enter  upon  the  study  of  men,  they  will 
naturally  be  drawn  at  the  first  opportunity  to  the 
study  of  birds  and  of  beasts.  In  that  realm  are 
limitless  opportunities.  In  simple  fiction  we  may 
obtain  inspiration  for  the  study  of  the  horse  from 
"Black  Beauty,"  and  for  the  study  of  the  dog  from 
"Beautiful  Joe."  John  Burroughs  can  tell  us  facts 
we  never  dreamed  of,  and  yet  they  are  facts 
lying  at  our  very  doors  and  providing,  as  do  all  of 


42  ^'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

Nature's  studies,  profitable  and  interesting 
investigation. 

Men  disagree  as  to  whether  these  dumb  creatures 
reason,  yet  there  are  many  well  authenticated  tales 
showing  some  wonderfully  human  conduct  on  the 
part  of  these  creatures.  We  are  told  by  "Farm 
Folks"  that  "on  the  top  of  a  steep  pinnacle  of  the 
Alps  mountains,  surrounded  by  the  dead  white  of 
the  eternal  snows,  through  which  an  occasional 
clump  of  evergreen  protrudes,  is  a  grave  marked 
by  a  simple  wooden  tablet  on  which  these  words 
are  carved:  'Here  lies  a  friend  of  humanity,  the 
savior  of  thirty-four  men,  women  and  children.'  The 
creature  to  whom  this  monument  was  erected  was 
only  a  dog.  He  was  one  of  those  great,  handsome, 
gentle-eyed  Saint  Bernards  which  trail  the  dangerous 
paths  of  the  treacherous  mountains,  watching  for  the 
lost  traveler,  and  bringing  him  to  safety  when  found." 

A  New  Orleans  newspaper  recently  quoted  a  police 
officer  who  said  that  all  the  stray  dogs  who  roam 
the  streets  at  night  seem  to  pick  out  the  uniformed 
poUcemen  as  their  friends,  and  that  when  the  oflacers 
return  to  the  station  they  are  accompanied  by  a  long 
procession  of  dogs  of  various  degrees.  Another  and 
older  officer  said  that  he  did  not  see  any  grounds 
for  objection  on  this  point,  because  he  remembered 
an  instance  where  tv/o  dogs  which  made  it  a  habit 
to  follow  the  same  policeman  every  night,  saved 
that  police  officer  his  job.  According  to  the  story, 
this  policeman  was  not  in  the  least  bothered  with 
insomnia,  and  when  he  got  ready  to  take  his  nap 
on  his  beat,  two  dogs  would  take  up  their  posi- 
tions one  at  one  end  of  the  block,  and  one  at  the 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  43 

other.  Whenever  one  of  the  dogs  saw  the  sergeant 
coming  he  would  run  to  the  sleeping  officer  and  rub 
his  cold  nose  against  the  officer's  face,  arousing  him 
from  his  sleep,  and  thus  warning  him  of  the  approach 
of  his  superior. 

One  of  my  neighbors  was  not  prepared  to  welcome 
a  dog  to  his  home,  but  he  finally  did  so,  and  now 
no  money  could  purchase  that  particular  animal;  and 
thereby  hangs  a  tale.  One  day  two  dogs  appeared 
at  this  gentleman's  house.  One  of  them,  a  large 
animal,  had  been  seriously  crippled  in  the  back. 
The  other  was  a  little,  short-legged  creature,  and  not 
at  all  attractive  to  the  eye.  The  crippled  animal 
hid  himself  under  the  house,  and  whenever  the 
Uttle  dog  was  fed  it  was  noticed  that  instead  of 
eating  the  food,  he  disappeared  with  it.  He  was 
followed  several  times,  and  on  each  occasion  was  seen 
to  carry  the  food  under  the  house,  place  it  before 
the  crippled  animal,  and  stand  wagging  his  tail  as 
though  grateful  for  the  opportunity  of  doing  that 
kindness.  In  a  few  days  the  two  dogs  disappeared. 
Several  days  later,  the  smaller  dog  returned  and  took 
up  his  home  on  the  premises.  His  very  appearance 
suggested  the  name  he  now  bears,  **Scrubby,"  but 
there  is  nothing  of  the  scrub  in  his  characteristics. 
Because  of  the  kindness  he  showed  to  his  crippled 
companion,  he  found  an  appreciative  master  and  a 
comfortable  home.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  has 
found  friends  in  the  neighborhood  among  all  who 
have  learned  his  interesting  story. 

It  was  a  good  sign,  when,  despite  the  President's 
great  popularity,  many  criticisms  were  made 
when  it  was  reported  that  he  had  participated  in 


44  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

a  hunt  where  animals  had  been  captured  and  locked 
in  a  cage  to  be  suddenly  released  in  order  that  a 
chase  might  be  made.  And  it  was  another  good  sign 
when  many  newspapers  criticized  a  former  President 
because  in  one  of  his  nev/spaper  articles  he  told 
of  the  great  delight  to  be  found  in  the  chase 
for  jack-rabbits,  admitting  at  the  same  time  that  it 
was  necessary  for  the  chasers  to  take  great  pains  to 
persuade  these  little  animals  to  flee  from  their 
pursuers. 

A  police  officer  in  a  western  city  was  famous  for 
his  tenderness.  He  had  been  known  to  weep  at  the 
sight  of  a  man  v/hose  skull  had  been  fractured  by 
a  police  ofl&cer's  club,  and  he  had  shown  what  seemed 
to  be — at  least  on  the  part  of  a  police  oflficer — un- 
dignified concern  over  an  injury  inflicted  upon  a  dog. 
Some  of  his  fellow  ofiicers  good-naturedly  gibed  him 
on  his  tender  spot,  and  one  of  his  superiors  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  taunt  him.  There  was  no 
tender  spot  in  this  superior's  breast.  He  could  stand 
the  sight  of  blood  on  man  or  on  beast.  The  pain 
which  others  felt  did  not  disturb  him.  But  on  one 
occasion  it  happened  that  this  tender-hearted  man 
accompanied  this  particular  superior  on  a  search  for 
a  pair  of  desperate  criminals.  The  criminals  were 
found,  and  they  showed  fight.  The  man  who  had 
been  laughed  at  because  of  his  tenderness,  who  had 
been  sneered  at  because  of  his  tears  at  the  sight  of 
another's  woe,  stood  his  ground  manfully,  risked  his 
own  life,  and  with  the  aid  of  citizens  whom  he  called 
to  his  support,  arrested  both  of  the  desperate  men 
after  being  required  to  severely  wound  one  of  them. 
The  superior     the  man  who  had  so  often  laughed  his 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  45 


subordinate  to  scorn  because  of  his  "weakness" — 
took  to  his  heels  at  the  first  shot,  and  ran  hke  a 
scared  wolf.  History  is  replete  with  instances  show- 
ing that  "cowards  are  cruel,  but  the  brave  love 
mercy,  and  delight  to  save." 

"Nature  teaches  beasts  to  know  their  friends." 
Have  you  ever  noticed  that  there  is  an  affinity  be- 
tv/een  the  boy  and  the  dog?  Turn  loose  a  Uttle 
child  and  a  little  dog— or  for  that  matter,  an  old 
dog— and  see  hovr  soon  they'll  get  together.  On 
one  occasion  a  man  holding  in  his  lap  a  puppy  dog 
took  a  seat  in  a  crowded  street  car.  Beside  him  sat 
a  woman,  and  beside  the  woman  a  little  boy.  Lean- 
ing forward,  the  boy  caught  sight  of  the  dog,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  dog  caught  sight  of  the  boy.  In 
the  parlance  of  the  street,  "there  was  something 
doing."  The  httle  boy's  eyes  sparkled  and  the  Uttle 
dog's  tail  wagged.  The  man  found  great  difficulty 
in  holding  the  animal,  and  in  order  to  prevent  it 
from  creating  a  commotion,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
pass  it  over  to  the  boy,  in  whose  lap  the  little  animal 
nestled  and  was  content. 

One  of  the  busiest  lawyers  in  a  western  city  was 
generally  regarded  as  a  cross  and  crabbed  man.  He 
was  a  bachelor,  and  it  was  noticed — and  to  his  credit 
it  was  said — that  he  had  the  habit  when  walking 
down  the  street,  of  stopping  to  rub  the  noses  and  pat 
the  necks  of  the  horses  attached  to  the  hacks  stand- 
ing in  front  of  hotels.  Some  who  would  not  be 
wiUing  to  give  the  devil  his  due,  said  that  he  only 
did  that  because  it  cost  nothing,  and  by  way  of 
extenuation  of  his  other  meannesses.  But  finally  it 
leaked  out — not  with  this  man's  consent,  however 


46  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

— that  as  he  had  shown  kindness  to  the  hack  horses, 
he  had  shown  kindness  to  men  and  women  and 
Uttle  children  who  were  helpless  and  needed  friends. 
It  developed  that,  unknown  to  the  world,  and  known 
only  to  a  few,  he  had  regularly  and  quietly  dispensed 
charity  in  a  most  liberal  way. 

Men  who  keep  their  hearts  young,  find  pleasure 
in  dwelling  on  life's  simple  things.  All  may  not  be 
profound  and  if  we  could  we  would  be  so  busy 
maintaining  our  dignity  that  we  wovild  miss  the  best 
part  of  this  really  good  old  world.  But  we  may  all 
learn  from  association  with  children;  we  may  be  of 
great  service  in  giving  a  word  of  cheer  to  some  fal- 
tering comrade;  we  may  obtain  a  wonderful  amount 
of  pleasure  in  doing  a  kind  turn  to  some  abandoned 
cur,  receiving  our  reward  in  a  hearty  wag  of  the 
cur's  tail  like  unto  that  for  which  the  old  German 
said  he  wouldn't  take  a  thousand  dollars. 

Most  of  us  arc  too  dignified  to  repeat,  but  some 
of  us  are  simple-hearted  enough  to  remember,  one 
of  the  sweetest  lessons  of  childhood  conveyed  in 
homely  verse:  "Little  drops  of  water,  little  grains  of 
sand,  make  the  mighty  ocean,  and  the  pleasant  land. 
Little  deeds  of  kindness,  Uttle  words  of  love,  help  to 
make  earth  happy  like  the  heaven  above." 

The  easiest  thing  in  the  world  is  to  train  a  child 
so  that  it  will  be  considerate  of  the  rights  of  birds 
and  beasts,  and  a  child  trained  in  that  way  is  safe. 
When  he  is  grown  he  will  be  considerate  of  the  rights 
of  men.  He  will  learn  that  the  essence  of  the  law 
is  to  "deal  honestly,  hurt  nobody,  (and  no  thing) 
and  give  every  one  fand  every  thing)  his  just  due." 
When  he  learns  to  fulfill  that  law  as  it  relates  to  the 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  47 

smallest  and  most  helpless  of  God's  creatures,  he  will 
lose  no  opportunity  to  become  as  a  ministering  angel 
to  human  beings  in  need. 

These  are  the  foundations  of  peace;  for  if  the 
schoolboy  of  today  is  trained  to  speak  softly  and 
carry  an  olive  branch  instead  of  a  "big  stick,"  the 
statesman  of  tomorrow  will  be  more  reluctant  to 
engage  in  war  and  more  willing  to  assist  in  the  resto- 
ration of  order. 


48  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom** 


PORTSMOUTH  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO 

;HE  civilized  v/orld  was  kneeling  at  the  shrine 
of  peace  v/hen,  on  September  5,  1905,  a 
treaty  terminating  the  war  between  Russia 
and  Japan  was  signed  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire.  The  president  of  the  United  States 
who  had  done  so  much  to  bring  about  the 
desirable  result,  was  complimented  for  his  efforts 
by  men  of  all  nations,  and  by  men  of  all  parties, 
while  the  representatives  of  the  contending  govern- 
ments were  congratulated  upon  the  "give  and  take" 
disposition  characterizing  their  deUberations.  In 
counting  room  and  in  workshop,  on  farm  and  in  the 
highways,  men  talked  of  peace  with  almost  religious 
fervor,  until  it  seem_ed  as  though  a  benediction  had 
suddenly  rested  upon  the  v/hole  world.  Many 
thoughtful  m.en  predicted  that  the  signing  of  the 
treaty  at  Portsmouth  v/as  the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  the  rule  of  force,  and  that  the  conflict  in  the  far 
East  would  prove  to  have  been  the  last  war  between 
great  nations. 

Five  days  after  the  signing  of  the  Portsmouth 
treaty  conspicuous  place  in  the  daily  newspapers 
was  given  to  the  report  of  what  is  known  as  "one 
of  the  greatest  prize  lights  in  history."  The  news- 
papers gave  that  report  first  place  because  newspaper 
editors  knew  their  readers  demanded  it.  Would 
it  not  be  well  if  the  same  public  sentiment  which 
had  so  much  to  do  with  forcing  a  settlem.ent  between 
Russia    and    Japan    could    be    crystalized    against 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '*  49 

brutality  and  force,  whether  engaged  in  by  nations 
or  by  mdividuals. 

Those  who  have  believed  that  the  prize  fight  was 
going  out  of  favor  were  doubtless  greatly  discouraged 
by  the  report  of  the  affair  that  took  place  at  Colma, 
a  suburb  of  San  Francisco.  As  some  of  the  cor- 
respondents told  us  it  was  a  "bloody  battle." 
Everyone  of  the  eighteen  rounds  was  characterized 
by  the  hardest  kind  of  fighting,  and  the  record 
of  the  eighteenth — and  last — round,  shows  "Nelson 
shot  his  left  and  right  to  Britt's  jaw  like  a  flash. 
Britt  went  down  like  a  log,  gasping  for  breath,  and 
with  blood  coming  from  his  mouth  and  nose.  The 
fatal  seconds  were  counted  out  by  Timekeeper 
Harting.  At  the  call  of  ten  Britt  made  a  feeble 
effort  to  rise,  but  immediately  fell  back,  utterly 
defeated." 

And  then  we  were  told: 

Instantly  the  crowd,  surging  in  great  waves 
from  all  sides,  broke  the  ropes,  and  swept  into 
the  ring.  There  were  no  police  at  Colma,  and 
the  few  scattered  deputy  sheriffs  were  power- 
less. Britt  and  his  seconds  were  hauled  in  a 
dozen  directions  by  crazy  sympathizers.  A  few 
intelligent  men  tried  to  drive  the  crowd  away, 
and  there  were  a  half  dozen  free  fights  in  the 
battle-maddened  crowd, 

A  magnificent  description,  indeed,  of  a  magnificent 
scene,  enacted  among  a  people  whose  boast  is  that 
they  are  leaders  in  the  arts  of  peace.  So  great  was 
the   interest   in   this   affair   that    the   gate   receipts 


50  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' • 

amounted  to  $70,000.  /ill  over  the  United  States 
great  crowds  were  collected  around  the  bulletin 
boards  in  the  large  cities,  and  in  many  of  the  smaller 
towns,  awaiting  the  news  of  the  result  of  this  brutal 
contest. 

The  discouraging  thing  about  it  is  that  in  so- 
called  "sporting  circles"  the  opinion  is  freely  expressed 
that  this  contest,  "eminently  successful"  as  it  was, 
has  revived  new  interest  in  the  "manly  art,"  and 
that  we  may  expect  many  similar  entertainments  in 
the  near  future. 

It  is  true  there  are  many  intelligent  and  gentle 
men  who  frequently  take  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
timity  to  witness  one  of  these  contests,  and  it  is  also 
true — as  will  be  testified  by  any  one  who  has 
been  an  observer  on  such  occasions — that  a  contest 
of  this  character  would  prove  entertaining  to  the 
average  man,  whatever  his  occupation  in  life  might 
be.  There  is  in  every  one  of  us  a  bit  of  the  animal. 
The  apology  given  by  the  intelligent  man  who  habit- 
ually attends  prize  fights  and  defends  them  is  that 
the  participants  do  not  really  suffer,  that  they  go 
into  it  expecting  to  receive  punishment,  and  that 
they  are  mere  brutes  who  engage  in  that  sport  largely 
for  gain,  and  are  therefore  entitled  to  no  sympathy. 
The  answer  of  the  man  who  has  witnessed  prize 
fights  and  is  opposed  to  them,  is  that  the  worst 
feature  is  the  effect  such  contests  have  upon  the 
observers.  It  would  stir  the  worst  in  the  best  of 
men  to  see  these  well  trained  brutes,  with  hardened 
muscles,  give  and  take  blows,  dodging  one  here  and 
withstanding  one  there.  Even  the  sight  of  blood  as 
it  is  drawn  in  every  one  of  these  contests,  does  not 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  51 

disturb  the  observer,  once  the  brute  within  him  has 
been  thoroughly  awakened  and  advances  to  meet  the 
brute  within  the  fighters  in  the  ring. 

This  point  may  be  well  illustrated  by  an  incident 
that  occurred  a  few  years  ago  in  a  western  city. 
There  had  been  in  that  city  a  number  of  prize  fights 
under  the  guise  of  "boxing  contests."  When  it  was 
announced  that  a  particularly  interesting  "boxing 
contest"  would  take  place,  the  editor  of  one  of  the 
daily  newspapers  decided  to  make  a  test  of  the  char- 
acter of  these  affairs,  and  of  their  effect  upon  indi- 
viduals who  had  never  seen  a  prize  fight,  and  were 
utterly  opposed  to  them.  Seven  gentlemen  were 
invited  to  accompany  this  editor  to  that  particular 
battle.  Every  one  of  these  gentlemen  was  asked  in 
advance  whether  he  opposed  prize  fighting.  They 
all  condemned  it  vigorously,  and  said  it  should  be 
prohibited.  Not  one  of  them  had  ever  witnessed 
either  a  real  prize  fight  or  a  boxing  contest  of  the 
mildest  order.  Some  were  so  opposed  to  prize  fight- 
ing that  they  did  not  readily  consent  to  go,  but  they 
were  told  that  they  would  be  given  the  privilege 
of  publishing  over  their  own  signatures  whatever 
they  desired  to  say  with  respect  to  their  experiences 
and  as  to  their  conclusions.  With  this  understand- 
ing they  consented  to  witness  the  affair.  Two  of 
these  gentlemen  v/ere  among  the  city's  ablest  lawyers; 
one  was  a  successful  druggist;  two  were  physicians; 
another  was  a  general  merchant,  and  another  was 
a  clerk. 

It  happened  that  this  contest  was  between  a  negro 
and  a  white  man.  The  remarks  of  the  members  of 
this  little   party  while  on  their  v/ay  to   the  ringside 


52  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

were  particularly  interesting.  Every  one  of  them 
was  confident  he  would  be  so  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted that  he  could  not  remain  to  the  finish.  Every 
one  said  he  wanted  the  negro  to  win,  because  any 
white  man  who  would  engage  in  a  fight  with  a  negro 
ought  to  be  whipped. 

To  the  editor  who  acted  the  host  on  this  occasion 
the  best  part  of  the  show  was  in  the  faces  and  the 
general  conduct  of  his  guests.  In  the  very  begin- 
ning the  black  man  landed  a  savage  blow  upon  the 
white  man's  nose,  drawing  blood.  One  of  the  law- 
yers, who  had  been  particularly  insistent  that  he  was 
anxious  for  the  black  man  to  win,  jumped  to  his 
feet  the  moment  this  blow  was  given,  and  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  shrieked:  "Go  at  him,  white  man!  Give 
it  to  him  hard!"  It  required  a  few  more  blows 
between  the  fighters  for  the  other  members  of  the 
party  to  become  aroused,  but  every  one  of  them  was 
aroused,  and  when  the  battle  was  thoroughly  in 
progress  they  were  all  screaming  at  the  top  of  their 
voices.  Some  of  them  were  mounted  on  chairs, 
giving  words  of  encouragement  to  the  white  fighter 
and  yeUing  with  delight  whenever  he  landed  a  blow 
upon  his  black  antagonist.  Their  enthusiasm  was 
not  lessened  when  the  blood  began  to  flow  freely. 
Gentle  men  and  gentlemen,  every  one  of  them,  they 
were  witnesses  to  a  struggle  of  force  between  human 
beings.  Their  race  prejudices  had  been  aroused, 
and  their  sympathies  had  been  enlisted  on  the  side 
of  the  member  of  their  own  race;  but  even  beyond 
all  that,  their  interest  was  thoroughly  centered  upon 
a  struggle  for  supremacy  between  two  strong  men. 
The  more  blows  that  landed,  the  better  were  they 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  53 

suited.  The  more  blood  that  flowed,  the  better  were 
they  pleased.  The  brute  within  them — as  within  all 
men,  sleeping,  but  never  dead — had  been  aroused. 
Blows  and  blood  were  the  order  of  the  day.  Love 
had  abdicated  its  throne  in  their  hearts,  and  force 
reigned  thereon  as  supreme  as  it  did  within  the  center 
of  that  bloody  ring. 

These  men  were  not,  however,  conspicuous  be- 
cause of  their  conduct.  The  whole  mass  of  men 
gathered  at  that  ringside  were  engaged  in  the  same 
manifestations  of  delight  whenever  a  favorite  fighter 
won  a  point  or  drew  blood;  they  were  all  engaged 
in  giving  encouragement  to  the  bloody  bruisers,  each 
to  do  his  worst  to  the  other  and  when  finally  the 
white  man  won  by  a  mere  scratch,  knocking  his 
opponent  senseless  upon  the  hard  pavement  of  the 
ring,  among  all  the  men  cheering  and  screaming  with 
delight  none  seemed  more  earnest  or  enthusiastic 
than  those  men  who  had  for  the  first  time  witnessed 
a  prize  fight  and  who,  in  their  normal  mood,  were 
opposed    to    the  system. 

When  the  lights  went  out  and  "the  captains  and 
the  kings"  departed,  these  men  returned  to  the 
newspaper  office,  and  wrote  of  their  experiences. 
The  normal  man  within  them  resumed  control,  and 
they  wrote  frankly.  Every  one  of  these  men  de- 
clared that  he  was  more  than  ever  opposed  to  prize 
fighting.  They  had  learned  through  personal  expe- 
rience the  terrible  effects  which  one  of  these  contests 
has  upon  the  observers,  and  they  had  come  to  know 
—what  theretofore  they  had  only  believed — that 
the  sport  that  has  so  long  sought  to  pass  for  '^manly 
art"  belongs  to   the   bloody  ages  rather  than  to   the 


54  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

civilized  years.  They  had  learned — v/hat  they  had 
theretofore  only  suspected — that  these  brutal  con- 
tests cause  men  to  lose  ground  which  they  must 
recover,  and  stir  within  the  breasts  of  the  witnesses 
the   very  elements  which  Christ  came   to  suppress. 

We  have  been  treated  to  many  absurdities  in  con- 
nection with  these  affairs.  Not  long  ago,  one  of  these 
valiant  brutes,  who  had  whipped  to  a  finish  his 
opponent,  ran  across  the  ring  and  throwing  his  arms 
affectionately  around  his  opponent's  neck,  planted 
several  kisses  upon  his  cheek.  And  the  newspaper 
dispatches  were  filled  with  praise  because  of  this 
display  of  "affection  for  a  fallen  foe!"  God  save 
the  mark!  And  one  of  the  most  abominable  of  the 
many  disgusting  things  that  have  associated  them- 
selves in  newspaper  dispatches  with  the  affairs  of 
these  bruisers  v/as  when  it  was  printed  all  over  the 
world  that  the  father  of  a  fighter  who  had  just  won 
the  battle  which  entitled  him  to  the  championship 
was  a  clergyman.  It  was  said  that  when  this  father 
received  the  news  of  the  victory  he  declared  that 
he  knew  that  his  boy  would  win  because  he  had 
prayed  that  victory  might  come  to  him!  In  the 
history  of  the  world  many  efforts  have  been  made 
to  put  the  God  of  Battles  to  an  unholy  use,  but 
that  was  about  the  worst  of  all  the  abominable 
efforts  in  that  line  that  have,  so  far,  been  made. 

If  men  are  to  be  restrained,  children  must  be 
trained.  If  the  world  is  to  be  educated,  the  process 
must  not  begin  upon  the  brink  of  the  grave;  it  must 
begin  with  the  cradle — and,  indeed,  so  far  as  future 
generations  are  concerned,  it  must  begin  long  prior 
to  the  cradle.     Children  must  be  taught  that    men 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  '»  55 


must  not  strike  one  another — either  in  the  individual 
or  the  national  capacity — except  the  blow  be  una- 
voidable. Those  who  would  encourage  nations  to 
keep  peace,  must  restrain  individuals  from  force. 
Particularly  in  our  own  land,  when  we  set  ourselves 
up  as  leaders  of  the  world's  thought,  as  foremost 
in  the  labors  of  love,  and  in  the  establishment  of 
peace,  we  must  see  to  it  that  our  national  pretenses 
are  not  inconsistent  with  our  individual  life.  We 
must  make  it  known  that  while  our  statesmen  are 
prompted  to  aid  in  the  discouragement  of  war  among 
all  nations  tempted  to  engage  in  it,  our  poUcemen 
are  required  to  preserve  order  among  all  individuals 
who  would  destroy  it. 

When  the  children  of  today  are  taught  to  abhor 
force  in  all  its  forms,  the  men  of  tomorrov/  will  not 
gather  at  the  ringside  to  give  encouragement  to 
lawlessness.  When  the  children  are  taught  that 
love  must  rule  in  the  hearts  of  men,  love  will  rule 
in  the  councils  of  nations.  The  agreement  between 
Russia  and  Japan  was  written  upon  parchment,  and 
it  is  effective  so  far  as  concerns  that  particular  con- 
test; but  the  greatest  of  all  peace  treaties — the 
peace  treaty  that  will  be  effective  for  all  people  and 
for  all  times — is  to  be  written  in  letters  of  love  upon 
the  hearts  of  the  rising  generation.  The  signs  of  the 
times  are  that  parents  are  giving  more  consideration 
to  thoughts  of  this  character  than  ever  before  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  Kindness  to  the  birds  of 
the  air  and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  consideration 
for  one's  fellows,  love  and  sympathy  for  all  men — 
these  are  the  things  to  be  cultivated  in  the  building 


56  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >> 

of  a  perpetual  peace  for  all  the  world.  When  these 
thmgs  are  taught  in  the  nursery,  and  talked  of  in 
the  counting  room  and  in  the  workshop,  "the  sweet 
birds  from  the  south  will  build  their  nests  in  the 
caimon's  mouth;  and  the  only  sounds  from  its  rusty 
throat  will  be  the  wren's  or  the  blue-bird's  note." 


(( 


Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  57 


WHEN    THE    "MASTER"    KNOCKS 

IDMUND  J.  JAMES,  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  rendered  a  distinct  service 
to  society  when,  in  his  baccalaureate  address, 
he  paid  his  respects  to  John  J.  Ingalls* 
famous  poem,  saying:  "I  do  not  beheve  that 
there  is  an  equal  number  of  beautiful  lines  in 
the  English  language,  which  contain  more  unmiti- 
gated nonsense  than  Ingalls'  'Opportunity.'  "  Pres- 
ident James  told  the  graduating  class  that  oppor- 
tunities come  in  "a  never-ending  procession."  As  a 
result  of  his  protest,  Ingalls'  verse  has  been  widely 
discussed.  The  discussion  will  be  helpful  because 
of  the  necessity  for  stamping  out  the  disposition  to 
look  on  the  dark  side  of  things. 

The  lines  to  which  President  James  referred  follow: 

"Master  of  human  destinies  am  I  ! 

Fame,  love,  and  fortune  on  my  footsteps  wait. 

Cities  and  fields  I  walk;  I  penetrate 

Deserts  and  seas  remote,  and  passing  by 

Hovel,  and  mart,  and  palace — soon  or  late 

I  knock  unbidden  once  at  every  gate. 

If  sleeping,  wake — if  feasting,  rise  before 

I  turn  away.     It  is  the  hour  of  fate. 

And  they  who  follow  me  reach  every  state 

Mortals  desire,  and  conquer  every  foe 

Save  death;  but  those  who  doubt  or  hesitate, 

Condemned  to  failure,  penury  and  woe. 

Seek  me  in  vain,  and  uselessly  implore; 

I  answer  not,  and  I  return  no  more," 


58  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

Although  for  years  these  lines  have  been  made 
conspicuous  in  every  publication  of  Mr.  Ingalls' 
writings,  it  is  claimed  by  some  of  his  friends  that 
he  never  intended  the  verse  to  be  taken  seriously. 

But  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
talented  Ingalls  meant  what  he  wrote  when  he  gave 
these  beautiful  lines  to  the  world.  He  was  not  the 
only  one  in  his  time,  prior  to  his  time,  and  since  his 
time,  who  has  taken  the  gloomy  view  that  there  is 
a  "master  of  human  destinies,"  who  knocks  but 
once  at  every  gate,  and  forever  after  turns  a  deaf 
ear  to  those  who  then  failed  to  heed  him.  A  greater 
than  Ingalls  took  a  mighty  gloomy  view  when  he 
wrote:  "There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,  which, 
taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune;  omitted,  all 
the  voyage  of  their  life  is  bound  in  shallows  and  in 
miseries;  and  we  must  take  the  current  when  it 
serves,  or  lose  our  ventures."  Also:  "Who  seeks 
and  will  not  take  when  once  'tis  offered,  shall  never 
find  it  more." 

Going  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  Mr. 
Dooley  framed  a  companion  piece  for  the  Ingalls 
classic,  when  he  wrote:  "Opporchunity  knocks  at 
ivery  man's  dure  wanst.  On  some  men's  dures  it 
hammers  till  it  breaks  down  th'  dure,  an'  thin  it 
goes  in,  an'  aftherward  it  wurrks  f'r  him  as  a  night 
watchman.  On  other  men's  dures  it  knocks  an* 
runs  away,  an'  on  th'  dures  of  some  men  it  knocks 
an'  whin  they  come  out,  it  hits  thim  over  th'  head 
with  an  ax.     But  ivery  man  has  an  opporchunity.'* 

The  "one  time  and  out"  idea  on  the  opportunity 
question  has  been  all  too  persistently  cultivated. 
Neither  is  it  difficult  of  cultivation  in  this  day  of 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  59 

conspiracies  in  restraint  of  trade  and  conspiracies 
against  the  lives  of  men.  Now  that  man-made  law 
would  relegate  to  idleness  and  obscurity  the  man 
who  has  reached  his  fortieth  year,  it  would  not  be 
strange  if  the  Ingalls  verse  should  appeal  to  the 
man,  who,  although  at  the  very  threshold  of  life, 
finds  his  way  to  livelihood  barred  by  the  absurd 
decree  of  a  system  that  treats  man  as  a  lemon,  to 
be  squeezed  and  thrown  away.  But  this  man-made 
law  cannot  long  prevail  if  the  greed  and  dishonesty  to 
which  it  owes  its  origin  are  frowned  upon  by  intel- 
ligent men,  and  the  system  by  which  it  is  enforced 
is  stamped  out  of  existence. 

In  the  meantime,  the  efforts  of  men  and  women 
who  understand  that  they  owe  a  duty  to  society 
can  not  be  employed  to  better  purpose  than  in  an 
effort  to  persuade  men  to  remember  that  the  sun 
is  ever  shining  behind  the  clouds. 

It  was  Robert  Bruce,  who,  resting  in  a  ruined  hut 
in  the  forest,  and  considering  whether  he  should 
continue  the  strife  to  maintain  his  right  to  the  Scot, 
tish  throne,  obtained  inspiration  from  a  spider.  The 
spider  was  trying  to  fix  its  web  on  the  rafters,  and 
was  swinging  itself  from  one  eave  to  another.  It 
had  tried  six  times  to  reach  one  place,  and  failed. 
Suddenly  the  thought  stuck  Bruce,  "I  have  fought 
six  times  against  the  enemies  of  my  country."  He 
resolved  that  he  would  be  guided  by  the  failure  or 
success  of  the  Uttle  insect.  The  next  effort  of  the 
spider  was  successful,  and  Bruce  then  determined 
that  he  would  make  the  seventh  attempt  to  free  his 
coimtry. 


60  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

The  most  inspiring  tales  are  those  that  have  not 
been  written;  the  most  heroic  deeds  are  those  that 
have  not  been  told;  the  world's  greatest  successes 
have  been  won  in  the  quiet  of  men's  hearts;  the 
noblest  heroes  are  the  countless  thousands  who  have 
struggled  and  triumphed,  rising  on  "stepping  stones 
of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

What  is  opportunity?  It  is  life.  In  the  language 
of  Bishop  Spalding:  "Our  house,  our  table,  our 
tools,  our  books,  our  city,  our  country,  our  language, 
our  business,  our  profession — the  people  who  love  us 
and  those  who  hate,  they  who  help  and  they  who 
oppose — what  is  all  this  but  opportunity?" 

What  is  opportunity?  Ask  who  wrote  the  classic 
bearing  that  title  and  you  will  be  told  that  it  was 
the  work  of  the  talented  Ingalls,  who  represented 
Kansas  in  the  United  States  senate.  But  who  can 
tell  the  author  of  that  little  verse:  "If  at  first  you 
don't  succeed,  try,  try  again?"  Yet  the  one  who 
gave  that  fine  note  to  the  music  of  the  world  rendered 
service  greater  than  any  given  by  Ingalls;  for  where 
the  author  of  "Opportunity"  killed  hope,  the  author 
of  "try,  try  again"  revived  it;  where  the  one  stood 
for  the  doctrine  of  death,  the  other  stood  for  the 
gospel  of  life;  where  the  one  who  believed  that 
opportunity  knocks  and  flees  wrote  a  classic  that, 
while  adding  to  his  fame  in  literary  circles,  con- 
tributed to  the  world's  woes,  the  other  penned  a 
homely  verse  that  gives  hope  and  courage  to  the 
sons  of  men — a  verse  that  has  inspired  the  children 
of  many  generations,  and  yet  lives  in  service  to  the 
world. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  61 

What  is  opportunity?  Bishop  Spalding  says:  "We 
find  ourselves  where  we  seek  ourselves — in  matter 
or  in  mind,  in  the  lov/  world  of  mere  sensation  and 
base  desire,  or  in  that  where  souls  are  transfigured 
by  truth  and  love.  Nothing  touches  the  soul  but 
leaves  its  impress,  and  thus,  little  by  little,  we  are 
fashioned  into  the  image  of  all  we  have  seen  and 
heard,  known  and  meditated;  and  if  we  learn  to 
live  with  all  that  is  fairest,  and  purest,  and  best, 
the  love  of  it  will  in  the  end  become  our  very  life." 

What  is  opportunity?  Some  one  has  said:  "Oc- 
casion may  be  the  bugle  call  that  summons  an  army 
to  battle,  but  the  blast  of  the  bugle  can  never  make 
soldiers  or  win  battles,"  and  the  man  who  makes 
the  soldier  and  wins  the  battle  of  life,  follows  the 
example  of  Andrew  Jackson,  who  was  known  as  "the 
boy  who  would  never  stay  thro  wed." 

What  is  opportunity?  In  a  story  of  Chinese  life, 
we  are  told  that  a  Chinese  student  was  attracted 
to  the  efforts  of  a  woman  who  was  trying  to  make 
a  needle  from  a  rod  of  iron,  by  rubbing  the  rod 
against  a  stone.  This  so  encouraged  the  student 
that  wedding  patience  and  energy,  he  became  one 
of  China's  greatest  scholars. 

What  is  opportunity?  Michael  Davitt,  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  figures,  died  recently.  In  all  his 
life  he  had  never  known  what  real  comfort  was.  So 
far  as  money  was  concerned,  he  was  born  poor  and 
died  poor.  As  a  lad  he  saw  his  widowed  mother 
evicted  from  her  small  holding.  At  the  age  of  ten, 
he  lost  his  arm  in  a  cotton  machine  while  earning 
a  livelihood  for  his  mother  and  her  family.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  joined  the  Fenian  movement,  and 


62  ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

for  his  activity  therein  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  sentenced  to  fifteen  years'  penal  servitude. 
After  seven  years  of  imprisonment,  during  which 
he  was  treated  to  all  manner  of  indignities,  he  was 
released,  and  began  the  work  which  culminated 
in  the  organization  of  the  Irish  Land  League.  At 
various  times  he  suffered  imprisonment.  As  one 
writer  says:  "Every  moment  of  his  life  was  devoted 
to  the  redemption  of  his  people,  to  their  material 
and  intellectual  advancement,  and  through  years 
of  painful  suffering,  imprisonment,  contumely  and 
degradation,  he  v/rought  courageously,  unceasingly, 
for  the  creating  of  better  conditions  in  the  storied 
land  that  was  the  idol  of  his  hopes  and  dreams." 

Where  was  Michael  Davitt's  opportunity?  When 
did  he  grasp  it?  How  did  he  realize  upon  it?  His 
whole  life  was  one  of  service  to  his  fellows,  and  sac- 
rifice to  their  cause,  and  when  he  died  he  left  a  will 
concluding  in  these  words: 

"My  diaries  are  not  to  be  published  as  such, 
and  in  no  instance  without  my  wife's  permission; 
but  on  no  account  must  anything  harsh  or 
censorious,  written  in  said  diaries  by  me,  about 
any  person,  dead  or  alive,  who  has  ever  worked 
for  Ireland,  be  printed,  published,  or  used,  so  as 
to  give  pain  to  any  friend  or  relative.  To  all 
my  friends  I  leave  kind  thoughts;  to  my  enemies 
the  fullest  possible  forgiveness,  and  to  Ireland 
the  undying  prayer  for  the  absolute  freedom 
and  independence  which  it  was  my  life's  ambi- 
tion to  try  and  obtain  for  her." 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  83 

Surely  "opportunity"  fairly  battered  down  Michael 
Davitt's  doors,  so  anxious  was  it  to  be  grasped  by 
that  faithful  soldier  of  liberty.  No  need  to  say 
that  with  all  its  sorrows,  its  privations,  and  its  sac- 
rifices, Davitt's  life  was  a  success;  and  no  wonder 
that  when  he  died  men  of  every  race  and  creed 
paid  loving  tribute  to  his  memory.  It  was  eminently 
fitting  that  this  man,  who  lived  for  his  fellows, 
should  die  with  a  message  to  love  and  to  liberty 
upon  his  lips;  to  his  friends,  kind  thoughts — to  his 
enemies,  forgiveness — to  his  country,  independence! 
What  a  bountiful  bequest,  and  what  a  precious 
legacy!  Dying  as  he  had  lived  that  testator  seized 
his  opportunity.  During  all  his  career  he  seemed 
destined  to  give  where  others  seemed  destined  to 
receive.  Service  was  his  heritage — even  as  it  is  the 
heritage  of  all  who  would  win  from  life  its  greatest 
prize. 

"Rose-wearer  and  rose-giver, 

We  meet  them  both  today; 
One  gathers  joy,  one  scatters  it, 
Along  the  trodden  way. 
Which  are  you,  little  maiden? 

The  flower-crowned  lass  is  fair, 
But  the  one  who  scatters  roses 

Is  the  one  we  cannot  spare." 


64  **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


THE  GREAT  WHISPERING  GALLERY 

|N  THE  capitol  at  Washington,  in  St.  Paul's 
[2)  cathedral,  London,  and  at  Gloucester  ca- 
thedral in  England,  there  are  domes  in 
which  the  faintest  sounds  conveyed  around 
the  interior  may  be  readily  heard — and  these 
are  called  "whispering  galleries."  The  original 
"whispering  gallery"  was  built  centuries  ago  by 
Dionysus,  the  tyrant.  It  was  a  cavern  170  feet 
long,  60  feet  high,  and  20  to  35  feet  wide.  It  was 
built  so  that  Dionysus  could  hear  the  solitary  mur- 
murings  of  his  prisoners,  v/as  connected  by  a  secret 
passage  to  the  tyrant's  palace,  and  was  known  as 
the  "Ear  of  Dionysus,"  because  the  faintest 
whisper  of  a  prisoner  reached  his  master's  ear.  Men 
will  be  more  careful  as  to  their  thoughts  and  deeds 
when  they  learn  to  remember  in  every  moment  of 
their  lives  that  this  great  world  is  a  whispering  gallery 
where  the  smallest  thought  or  deed  has  wide-spread 
influence. 

Richter  gave  us  the  idea  when  he  wrote:  "Words 
that  a  father  speaks  to  his  children  in  the  privacy 
of  home,  are  not  heard  by  the  world,  but,  as  in 
whispering  galleries,  they  are  clearly  heard  at  the 
end,  and  by  posterity." 

As  with  a  father's  words,  so  with  the  words  and 
deeds,  and  even  the  thoughts  of  others.  The 
mother's  prayer,  the  father's  counsel,  the  sister's 
tear,  the  friend's  smile,  and  the  brother's  word 
of   cheer,   exeit  an  influence  extending  far  beyond 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  65 

the  interests  of  the  immediate  beneficiary,  even  "as 
the  small  pebble  stirs  the  peaceful  lake;  the  center 
mov'd,  a  circle  straight  succeeds,  another  still,  and 
still  another  spreads." 

Every  man  and  woman  under  whose  eyes  these 
lines  fall,  perhaps,  remembers  some  other  man  or 
woman,  or  perhaps  a  Uttle  child,  who  has  exerted 
marked  influence  for  good  upon  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  another. 

"Such  souls, 
Whose  splendid  visitations  daze  the  world, 
Vanish  like  lightning,  but  they  leave  behind 
The  voice  that  in  the  distance  far  away 
Wakes  the  smouldering  ages." 

Schouler,  in  his  history  of  the  United  States, 
refers  to  the  marked  influence  which  Washington 
had  upon  Monroe,  saying:  "The  illustrious  example 
of  the  first  incumbent  had  become  with  Monroe  an 
overpowering  influence,"  and  adding:  "Even  in 
personal  looks  the  last  Virginian,  with  his  placid 
and  sedate  expression  of  face,  regular  features,  and 
a  grayish-blue  eye,  which  invited  confidence,  had 
come  to  appear  not  unlike  the  first;  so  that  in  these 
years,  the  names  of  Washington  and  Monroe  became 
naturally  coupled  together." 

In  his  address  on  "The  Alchemy  of  Influence," 
Henry  Drummond  says:  "Through  all  the  range 
of  literature,  of  history,  and  biography,  this  law 
presides.  Men  are  all  mosaics  of  other  men.  There 
was  a  savour  of  David  about  Jonathan,  and  a  savour 
of  Jonathan  about  David.  Jean  Valjean,  in  the 
masterpiece  of  Victor  Hugo,  is  Bishop  Bienvenu 
risen   from    the    dead.     Metempsychosis    is   a   fact. 


66  **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 


George  Eliot's  message  to  the  world  was  that 
men  and  women  make  men  and  women." 

Thomas  Hardy's  "less  of  the  D'Urbervilles"  was 
a  well-bred  woman  who  fell  because  of  the  bad 
environment  she  had  adopted.  As  we  learn  from 
the  Ufe  of  "Tess,"  that  "evil  associations  corrupt 
good  manners,"  so  from  Browning's  drama,  "Pippa 
Passes,"  we  learn  of  the  "blessed  influence  of  one 
true,  loving,  human  soul  on  another." 

That  was  a  great  and  profitable  day  spent  by 
"Pippa,"  the  heroine  of  Browning's  tale.  Pippa 
was  a  girl  employed  at  the  silk  mills  in  northern 
Italy.  During  the  whole  year  she  had  but  one 
holiday.  It  was  New  Year's  day,  and  she  deter- 
mined to  make  the  most  of  it.  She  did  make  the 
most  of  it;  and  from  Pippa's  experiences  we  learn, 
in  the  language  of  the  reviewer:  "There  is  nothing 
we  do  or  say  but  may  be  big  with  good  or  evil  con- 
sequences to  many  of  our  fellows  of  whom  we  know 
nothing.  People  whom  we  have  never  seen,  of 
whose  very  existence  we  are  ignorant,  are  affected 
for  good  or  evil  externally  by  our  lightest  words 
and  our  most  thoughtless  actions." 

In  the  crowded  car  a  man  looks  at  his  watch,  and 
immediately  his  neighbor  does  likewise. 

We  yawn  and  our  neighbor  yawns;  we  smile,  and 
he  smiles;    we  weep,  and  he  is  moved  to  tears. 

The  sour  and  surly  man  makes  sour  and  surly 
all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  and  the  hearty, 
whole-souled  cheerful  fellow  makes  others  happy. 

Did  you  ever  wait  for  a  belated  train  on  a  rainy 
day  in  a  dingy  waiting  room  of  a  dingy  station? 
Perhaps  the  train  is  several  hours  late.     Passengers 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  67 


b^ 


ask  surly  questions  of  one  another  and  the  station 
agent,  and  receive  surly  replies.  Suddenly  a  young 
girl  enters  with  a  smiling  face  and  a  cheery  good- 
morning  for  all.  The  gloom  immediately  disappears; 
the  time  passes  rapidly;  the  station  is  not  quite  so 
dingy  as  it  seemed;  a  rainy  day  is  not,  after  all,  so 
very  unpleasant — and  all  because  of  a  sweet-faced, 
smiling  girl.  "The  very  room,  coz  she  was  in, 
seemed  warm  from  floor  to  ceilin'." 

A  man  who  was  struggling  to  conquer  his  appetite 
for  liquor,  was  a  guest  at  a  banquet  where  wine 
flov/ed  freely.  He  was  on  the  point  of  yielding  to 
the  temptation  to  take  "a  sip  or  tv/o,"  when  a  man 
for  whom  he  had  a  very  poor  opinion,  rose  to  speak. 
This  speaker  had  no  appetite  to  struggle  with,  but 
he  had  many  faults  more  serious  than  those  of  the 
man  first  mentioned.  The  speaker  referred  to  the 
temptations  of  everyday  life,  and  becoming  some- 
what personal,  said:  "If  I  could  forget  God  at  the 
banquet  table  or  elsewhere,  I  could  go  to  pieces 
very  quickly."  The  man,  with  his  hand  upon  the 
glass,  restrained  himself  and  avoided  the  fatal  "sip 
or  two."  While  he  had  all  along  regarded  that 
particular  speaker  as  a  hypocrite,  he  gave  to  him  the 
credit  of  saving  him  from  a  serious  error. 

Neither  is  this  influence  for  good  or  evil  confined 
to  a  small  circle.  The  one  who  carries  a  smile,  or 
wears  a  frown,  is  as  choke  full  of  contagion  as  a  man 
with  the  measles.  As  the  frov/n  or  smile  is  "caught" 
by  another,  he  in  turn  passes  it  to  the  first  person 
he  meets,  and  so  it  goes  on,  and  on,  and  on.  Whether 
it  be  a  vile  story  or  a  pure  tale;  a  malicious  word 
or  a  kind  speech;  a  cruel  act  or  a  generous  deed;  an 


68  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

idle  thought  or  a  noble  sentiment — it  makes  itself 
heard  in  the  whispering  gallery  of  this  great  world 
of  ours. 

"So  when  a  great  man  dies,  for  years  beyond  our 
ken,  the  light  he  leaves  behind  him,  lies  upon  the 
paths  of  men."  But  "great  men"  does  not  necessarily 
mean  famous  men.  It  means  good  men;  and  it 
means  particularly  those  men  who,  without  fame 
or  fortune,  and  unaccredited  by  their  neighbors  with 
genius,  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  live  the 
life  of  the  ordinary  man,  and  have  yet  the  genius 
for  doing  right— the  genius  for  making  the  world 
better  because  they  have  lived. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  tiniest  sparrow  light- 
ing upon  the  highest  twig  of  the  most  massive  oak, 
sends  a  gentle  shiver  to  the  deepest  root.  There  is 
a  hint  for  the  humblest  of  men!  And  as  we  learn 
the  lesson  of  influence  from  the  story  of  the  sparrow, 
so  from  the  literature  of  the  children — literature  very 
dear  to  some  of  our  simple  souls — we  may  learn 
of  the  value  of  the  Uttie  things.  The  service  given 
by  the  humble  daisy  was  described  by  Wordsworth 
when,  writing  in  a  little  girl's  album,  he  said: 

'•Small  service  is  true  service  while  it  lasts: 
Of  humblest  friends,  bright  Creature!  scorn  not  one; 

The  daisy,  by  the  shadow  that  it  casts, 
Protects  the  lingering  dew  drop  from  the  sun." 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  60 


>;<j^ 


"GOING  DOWN  THE  VALLEY" 

fN  AGED  man  lay  dying  one  evening  in  a 
western  hotel.  In  the  office  on  the  floor 
below  a  number  of  friends  had  congregated 
to  await  the  end.  Aside  from  those  friends 
and  the  members  of  the  family  gathered  at  the 
bedside,  it  was  not  generally  known  that  in  that 
great  building  a  life  was  going  out.  In  the  parlor 
on  the  same  floor  on  which  the  dying  man's  room 
was  located  assembled  a  little  party,  all  ignorant 
of  the  important  events  going  on  within  a  few  doors. 
A  sweet  faced  girl  v/as  asked  to  sing.  Soon  the 
men  waiting  in  the  office  below  and  the  grief-stricken 
ones  gathered  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying  father 
and  husband  were  listening  to  one  of  the  sweetest 
voices  ever  heard  singing  one  of  the  sweetest  songs 
ever  sung.     The  watchers  heard: 

We  are  going  down  the  valley  one  by  one, 
With  our  faces  toward  the  setting  of  the  sun. 
Down  the  valley  where  the  mournful  cypress  grows, 
Where  the  stream  of  death  in  silence  onward  flows. 

Instantly  every  man  in  the  office  below  removed 
his  hat,  and  one  of  the  watchers  at  the  bedside 
opened  the  door  a  bit  wider  as  the  sweet  singer 
gave  the  refrain: 

We  are  going  down  the  valley,  going  down  the  valley, 
Going  toward  the  setting  of  the  sun; 

We  are  going  down  the  valley,  going  down  the  valley. 
Going  down  the  valley  one  by  one. 


70  **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >> 

It  was  plain  to  the  persons  gathered  at  that  bed- 
side that  the  dying  man  had  heard  and  understood 
the  singer  and  the  song.  Plainly  he  was  straining 
his  ears  to  catch  the  music  and  the  words;  and 
plainly  he  succeeded,  because  a  smile  lighted  up 
his  face  upon  which  the  death  damp  had  already 
gathered,  as   the  girl  sang: 

We  are  going  down  the  valley  one  by  one; 
Human  comrades  there  will  you  and  I  have  none. 
But  a  tender  hand  will  guide  us  lest  we  fall — 
Christ  is  going  down  the  valley  with  us  all. 

As  though  anticipating  the  wish  of  the  dying 
man,  the  watchers  at  the  bedside,  their  voices 
trembling  with  emotion,  sang  again  the  last  verse. 
As  they  concluded:  "But  a  tender  hand  will  guide 
us  lest  we  fall,  Christ  is  going  down  the  valley  with 
us  all,"  the  watchers  knew  that  that  particular 
voyage  was  at  an  end;  and  in  their  heart  of  hearts 
they  felt  that  their  friend  had  not  been  unattended 
in  his  pilgrimage. 

It  has  been  written  that  "men  fear  death  as  chil- 
dren fear  to  go  in  the  dark;  and  as  that  natural 
fear  in  children  is  increased  with  tales,  so  is  the 
other."  But  children  may  be  trained  to  abandon 
their  fears  of  the  night,  which  is  just  as  much  a 
part  of  natural  law  as  the  day — even  as  death  is 
as  much  a  part  of  divine  law  as  birth.  And  "men, 
who  are  only  boys  grown  tall,  for  hearts  don't  change 
much,  after  all,"  ought  to  outgrow  these  fears  that, 
properly,  have  no  place  in  the  thoughts  of  intelligen: 
men. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  71 

Of  course  it  is  easier  to  make  such  suggestions 
than  to  act  on  them;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  beUeve 
that  the  present  day  dread  of  death  could  be  meas- 
urably reduced  if  men  were  educated  by  others — 
and  by  themselves — to  regard  it  as  passing  through 
the  very  thin  shadow  separating  the  living  from 
the  dead? 

Some  will  say  that  the  way  to  cure  these  fears 
is  pointed  out  in  "the  faith  of  the  mothers."  We 
know  that  men  have  been  greatly  strengthened  by 
that  faith  when  "going  down  the  valley,"  but  we 
know,  too,  that  many  men  whose  opinions  did  not 
lie  exactly  along  the  lines  of  the  orthodox  religion, 
and  other  men,  who  had  no  fixed  religious  belief, 
have  met  death  without  a  tremor.  We  know,  also, 
that  even  among  men  who  are  firm  believers,  and 
among  men  who  have  lived  eminently  correct  lives, 
the  fear  of  death — and  not  alone  the  natural  reluct- 
ance to  terminate  life — exists  in  pronounced  form. 
Even  the  faith  that  is  bred  in  the  bone  of  the  member 
of  the  orthodox  household  has  not  served  in  all  cases 
— nor  as  a  rule — to  cure  men  of  the  fear  of  the  sum- 
mons from  "over  there."  Because  this  is  so  men 
should  teach  one  another  to  look  upon  death  not 
as  an  unnatural  thing,  but  as  mere  fulfillment  of 
God's  law;  for  "we  are  going  down  the  valley  one 
by  one." 

Death  is  no  more  mysterious  than  birth,  and 
there  need  be  no  more  of  the  elements  of  tragedy 
in  the  one  than  in  the  other.  Every  man  who 
dreads  not  death  and  meets  it  calmly  sets  an 
example  to  his  living  fellows;  and  the  instances — 
they  are  many — where  men  have  without  fear  or 


72  '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


trembling  closed  their  eyes  for  all  time  are  worthy 
of  being  recalled  occasionally.  It  would  be  well 
if  the  popular  conception  of  death  could  be  some- 
what revised  through  frequent  recitals  of  instances 
where  deathbed  scenes  have  proved  an  inspiration 
to  the  living  witnesses. 

A  few  days  before  his  death  a  Missourian,  famous 
as  a  brave  officer  in  the  Confederate  army,  said  to 
his  wife:  "As  soon  as  the  doctor  tells  you  I  am 
dying,  I  want  Lu  (his  daughter)  to  go  to  the  piano 
and  play  'Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul.'  "  When  the 
doctor  announced  that  death  was  rapidly  approach- 
ing, the  daughter  took  her  seat  at  the  instrument, 
and  with  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks,  played 
that  fine  old  air  as  it  was  never  played  before.  The 
dying  man  heard  the  music  and  recognized  the  sign. 
With  a  smile  on  his  face — and  faintly  repeating  the 
words:  "Safe  into  the  haven  guide;  0,  receive  my 
soul  at  last" — the  fine  old  soldier  passed  down  the 
valley. 

All  the  world  is  familiar  with  the  scenes  at  the 
death-bed  of  William  McKinley.  We  remember  that 
twice  after  it  was  known  that  the  president  was 
dying,  he  recovered  consciousness,  and  on  each  oc- 
casion summoned  his  wife  to  the  bedside,  seeking 
in  spite  of  his  pain  to  comfort  the  distressed  woman. 
Evidently  reahzing  that  the  end  was  near,  in  one 
of  these  moments  of  consciousness  he  murmured, 
"Good-bye,  all,  good-bye.  It  is  God's  way.  His  will 
be  done,  not  ours."  And  while  the  world  was  rece- 
ding from  him,  and  he  realized  that  he  was  "going 
down    the    valiev,"   he   chanted    the   words   of    that 


/A--- 


^ig^r^^V 


■  1 

'.-1 


MS 


"^a  i.,>ti'-  ■ 


^^^^  ^Wilr' 


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r^' 


<-;,:^ 


.  •^- 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >>  73 

beautiful  hymn,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,  Nearer 
to  Thee." 

The  people  of  Nebraska  are  familiar  with  the 
scenes  occurring  at  the  death-bed  of  a  man  who 
was  at  one  time  a  member  of  Congress.  The  facts 
as  hereinafter  stated  are  well  authenticated,  and  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  no  more  inspiring  scenes  were 
ever  enacted  in  the  very  presence  of  the  grim  reaper. 
For,  perhaps,  twelve  hours  before  his  death,  this  man 
was  perfectly  conscious  of  all  that  was  going  on 
about  him.  The  same  cheerfulness  that  during  the 
days  of  his  strong  manhood  endeared  him  to  his 
friends  characterized  his  dying  moments.  When, 
after  a  consultation  of  physicians,  it  was  announced 
that  there  was  no  longer  any  hope,  that  fine  philos- 
<>nhy  with  which  he  had  been  wont  to  cheer  up  his 
fellow- democrats  after  a  political  defeat,  was  brought 
into  play,  and  he  said:  "We  have  lost  the  battle; 
but  we  at  least  have  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  we  made  a  good  fight." 

Perhaps  an  hour  before  death  came,  the  nurse, 
ascending  the  stairway  just  outside  the  sick  chamber, 
stumbled,  and  in  keeping  with  an  old  superstition, 
made  an  ejaculation. 

When  the  nurse  entered  the  room,  the  sick  man 
said:     "I  see  you  are  superstitious." 

"How  do  you  know  that?"  asked  the  nurse. 

"You  stubbed  your  toe  on  the  stairway,  and  I 
heard  what  you  said,"  replied  the  dying  man. 

For  himself  he  seemed  to  have  not  the  slightest 
fear.  There  was,  unquestionably,  deep  anxiety  on 
his  part  lest  his  good  wife  needlessly  suffer;  and  his 
whole  thought  seemed  to  be  to  give  to  his  sweet- 


74  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

heart  and  his  helpmeet,  out  of  his  own  poor  and  all 
but  depleted  stock  of  strength,  the  courage  and  the 
vigor  essential  in  that  the  most  trying  moment  of 
her  life.  Turning  to  his  brother  at  the  bedside,  he 
asked,  "Jim,  have  you  got  your  nerve  with  you?" 
The  brother,  well  nigh  choking  with  emotion,  replied 
in  the  affirmative.  "I'm  glad  of  it.  Hang  on  to  it 
to  the  end;  we  will  need  it  all,"  said  the  dying  man. 

Perhaps  five  minutes  before  he  passed  away,  he 
noticed  that  all  the  windows  in  the  room  were  open 
wide;  and  he  noticed,  too,  that  his  wife  wore  no 
wrap.  "Put  on  your  jacket,  Kate;  you'll  take  cold," 
admonished  the  thoughtful  man,  v/lio  at  that  mo- 
ment stood  at  the  very  threshold  of  eternity. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discover  that  this  man  had 
some  very  firm  convictions  on  the  great  questions 
affecting  the  future.  It  must  be  evident  to  every 
one  that  he  was  v>'ell  fortified  to  meet  and  solve  the 
secret  of  nature.  Some  of  those  v/ho  shared  his 
confidences  know  that  he  did  not  believe  that  there 
was  an  extremely  broad  chasm  between  this  life 
and  the  next.  They  know  that  he  believed  that 
men  who  die  live  again;  and  that,  somehow  and 
some  way,  the  living  who  have  loved  and  lost  their 
beloved  may  enjoy  the  consolation  of  that  sweet 
communion  by  which  was  smoothed  the  sorrow  of 
one  of  whom  it  was  written:  "A  guardian  angel 
o'er  his  life  presiding,  doubling  his  pleasures  and  his 
cares  dividing." 

And  so,  when  he  came  to  bid  farewell  to  the  one 
nearest  and  dearest  to  him,  he  turned  to  his  good 
wife  and  said:  "The  end  is  drawing  near,  but  we 
•nust  not  worry."     And  then  with  striking  emphasis 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  *'  75 

he  added,  "It's  all  right;  and  I'll  be  standing  right 
there,  Kate,  waiting  for  you  on  the  other  shore  with 
outstretched  arms." 

Some  one  has  said:  "The  heavens  themselves 
blaze  forth  the  death  of  princes."  Perhaps  it  was 
merely  a  coincidence,  but  it  is,  however,  a  fact  that 
at  the  very  moment  when  the  spirit  of  this  brave 
man  took  its  jflight  there  came  a  heavy  peal  of  thun- 
der; and  as  the  hands  were  folded  on  the  breast,  a 
United  States  senator,  one  of  the  watchers  at  the 
bedside,  turned  to  a  companion  and  said:  "It  is 
as  though  the  artillery  of  heaven  v/ere  firing  a  salute 
in  welcome  to  a  superbly  brave  man." 

Though  we  may  call  the  thunder  peal  a  mere 
coincidence,  who  will  say  that  it  was  not  eminently 
fitting  that  the  heavens  themselves  should  blaze 
forth  the  death  of  a  man  capable  of  so  much  love, 
courage,  and  philosophy? 


76  '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom 


yy 


KNEELING  AMONG  THE  LILIES 


;t^ 


I  HEN  on  Easter  day  we  pay  tribute  to  the 
risen  Christ,  we  register  a  protest  against 
all  forms  of  injustice  and  oppression.  When 
we  kneel  among  the  Ulies  we  count  ourselves 
with  the  democracy  which  Christ  came  to  establish 
among  men.  If  we  be  sincere  we  must  utter  at 
least  a  brief  prayer  that  the  men  and  women  who  toil 
and  struggle  for  existence  may  find  fair  recompense 
for  their  efforts — and  that  the  influence  of  this  day 
may  operate  even  in  the  hearts  of  the  trust  mag- 
nates, who  assume  that  because  they  monopolize 
the  wealth  of  the  country  they  are  the  trustees  of 
God,  divinely  ordained  to  administer  that  property 
according  to  their  own  pleasure. 

A  great  practical  importance  attaches  to  this  day, 
and  the  reason  for,  and  the  manner  of  its  celebra- 
tion. Nature  has  been  bountiful,  yet,  because  of 
the  greed  of  a  few  powerful  men,  the  students  of 
government  are  confronted  with  the  serious  problem 
of  devising  ways  and  means  for  the  distribution 
of  that  bounty,  at  least  to  the  extent  that  the  many 
may  live  in  comfort  even  though  the  few  flourish  in 
luxury. 

It  has  been  written  that  "If  the  tender,  profound 
and  sympathizing  love  practiced  and  recommended 
by  Jesus  were  paramount  in  every  heart,  the  loftiest 
and  most  glorious  idea  of  human  society  would  be 
realized,  and  little  be  wanted  to  make  this  world  a 
kingdom  of  heaven."     It  does  not  seem  possible  for 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  77 

that  profound  love  to  become  paramount  in  every 
heart;  yet  those  who  are  wilUng  to  "live  and  let  Uve" 
will  undertake  to  approach  for  themselves,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  that  high  aspiration;  it  will  be  no  less 
their  duty  to  bring  influence,  through  just  and 
wholesome  laws  of  restraint,  against  men  who  rec- 
ognize no  other  law  than  their  own  in  the  accumu- 
lation of  property,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
rights  of  others. 

It  will  be  no  easy  task  to  preserve  Easter  and 
similar  days  in  a  land  where  the  many  sow  while 
the  few  reap;  and  those  prelates  who  refrain  from 
crying  out  against  the  accumulation  of  wealth 
through  unjust  laws  may  yet  learn  that  it  is  a  diflfi- 
cult  task  to  preach  of  the  risen  Christ  to  hungry 
men  and  women  and  to  naked  children.  There  are 
men  who  hold  no  particular  creed,  but  delight  to 
revel  in  the  eloquence,  the  wisdom,  and  the  love 
of  the  Nazarene;  there  are  men  who,  even  though 
outside  of  the  church,  undertake  in  their  own  way, 
with  many  a  struggle,  and  with  an  occasional  tri- 
umph, to  follow  Him  who  said:  "I  am  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life."  Is  it  not,  then,  the  part 
of  his  more  pretentious  champions  to  lend  a  hand 
so  that  the  justice  for  which  Christ  stood  shall  find 
reflection  in  the  government  under  which  we  live? 

A  Nebraska  poet,  and  one  of  the  sweetest  singers 
of  all  the  poets  of  today,  has  written:  "This  Easter 
mom  we  stand  'mid  lilies  white,  while  clear- toned 
voices  in  the  chancel  sing  the  'Gloria  in  Excelsis,' 
peace  to  man.  And  oft-repeated  downward  floats 
to  us  the  choral  prayer  in  accents  sweet  and  clear, 
'Grant   us    Thy    peace,    Oh   Christ,    Grant   us    Thy 


78  "Of  Such  is  tha  Kingdom  " 

peace.'  "  But  with  all  the  songs  and  the  prayers, 
with  all  the  ceremonies,  and  the  inspiring  efforts 
which  this  day  recalls,  with  all  the  love,  with  all 
the  truth,  with  all  the  example — v/ith  all  the  Christ 
— there  is  no  peace!  In  this  land  we  see  on  the 
one  hand  powerful  men  accumulating,  through  unjust 
laws  and  favoritism  at  the  hands  of  government's 
representatives,  millions  upon  millions  of  wealth, 
while  in  spite  of  our  boasted  prosperity,  the  problem 
among  the  masses  of  obtaining  fair  recompense  for 
toil  is  becoming  more  and  more  difiicult  of  solution. 

Justice,  the  attribute  of  divine  nature,  must  be 
more  closely  associated  with  power,  so  that  "what- 
ever is  justice  may  be  power,  and  whatever  is  power 
may  be  justice."  Some  one  has  said  that  justice 
is  "the  great  and  simple  principle  which  is  the  secret 
of  success  in  all  government,  as  essential  to  the 
training  of  an  infant  as  to  the  control  of  a  mighty 
nation."  And  so  when  it  is  apparent  that  those 
who  toil  are  sometimes  denied  justice  it  is  fitting 
that  on  the  Easter  day  men  and  women  who  bend 
the  knee  in  the  presence  of  the  risen  Christ  shall  not 
forget  the  things  for  which  He  stood,  and  shall  con- 
secrate themselves,  as  citizens  as  well  as  church- 
men,  to  the  duty  with  which  they  are  confronted. 

You  have  seen  a  tiny  plant  springing  up  around 
a  rock,  seeking  to  clothe  with  its  green  leaves  the 
rugged  hindrance  to  its  growth.  That  little  plant 
is  a  symbol  of  this  day.  Given  in  its  seed  a  hint 
of  heaven,  it  strives  to  make  use  of  its  endowment 
and,  although  at  times  well  nigh  destroyed,  it  strug- 
gles upward  to  contribute  its  beauty  and  fragrance 
to   the  world  it  was  intended  to  adorn.     The  rock 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  79 

of  selfishness,  of  meanness,  of  conquest,  of  man's 
inhumanity  to  man,  of  war,  and  greed,  and  avarice, 
needs  to  be  removed  in  order  that  the  principle  for 
which  this  day  stands  may  be  recognized  by  all 
men. 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  discouragement,  the  injustice, 
and  the  wrongs  to  which  the  weak  and  helpless  are 
subjected,  there  are,  in  this  day,  and  in  the  things 
it  represents,  hope  and  inspiration  to  those  who 
would  struggle  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number. 

The  little  child  bending  in  true  reverence  at  the 
mother's  knee;  the  gray-haired  man  waiting  near 
close  of  well-spent  life  for  dawn  to  come;  the  aged 
mother,  with  scars  of  heart  as  numerous  as  her  years, 
whose  devotion  has  sustained  her  in  affliction,  and 
rhose  example  has  inspired  those  who  have  come 
within  the  benediction  of  her  holy  faith;  the  sacrifices 
of  parent  for  child;  the  devotion  of  friend  to  friend; 
the  kind  offices  of  the  strong  to  the  aflaiicted;  the 
mite  given  to  charity;  the  cup  of  cold  water;  the 
tear  that  springs  unbidden  for  another's  woes 
— all  these  bear  testimony  to  the  risen  Christ. 
These  provide  the  hope  that  in  God's  good  tim.e 
men  and  women  may  be  able  to  kneel  among 
the  liUes  with  love,  "the  crowning  grace  of  humanity," 
in  their  hearts;  with  justice  revealed  in  the 
national  life;  with  truth  written  upon  the  statute 
books;  with  happiness  re-established  wherever  they 
have  dethroned  it,  and  with  oppression  abandoned 
wherever  they  are  responsible  for  it. 


so  ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


THE  MYSTIC  CHORDS 

[ID  IT  ever  occur  to  you  that  music  will 
most  effectively  recall  memories  of  other 
days?  "A  song  will  outlive  all  sermons  in 
the  memory,"  because  "we  love  music  for 
the  buried  hopes,  the  garnered  recollections,  the  ten- 
der feelings  it  can  summon  at  a  touch." 

Search  your  own  heart,  and  see  whether  hidden 
there  is  not  some  memory  tender  and  true  that 
needs  but  a  note  of  the  music  with  which  it  is  in- 
dissolubly  associated  to  bring  it  almost  to  life. 

The  note  that  has  power  to  revive  these  memories 
varies,  of  course,  with  different  men.  But  it  is  of 
these,  even  as  it  was  with  the  men  of  Bayard  Tay- 
lor's time:  "They  sang  of  love,  and  not  of  fame; 
forgot  was  Britain's  glory;  each  heart  recalled  a 
different  name,   but  all  sang  'Annie   Laurie.'  " 

What  a  mighty  panorama  of  memories  the  singing 
of  some  of  these  old  songs  unfolds!  How,  while 
they  quicken  the  pulses,  they  take  us  back  to  the 
days  of  long  ago! 

See  the  panorama  passing  in  review! 

"A  Mighty  Fortress  is  our  God!"  And  we  see 
again  the  powerful  figure  of  a  fine  old  preacher — 
long  ago  gathered  to  his  fathers — one  with  whom 
that  song  was  a  favorite,  and  to  whom  it  was  not 
a  mere  compilation  of  words  and  music;  a  man  who 
served  God  as  faithfully  in  every  day  deeds  as  he 
praised  Him  in  Sabbath  day  ceremony. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  81 

"Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul!"  And  we  recall  the 
death  scene  of  a  brave  old  chieftain  in  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  a  fine  old  soldier  of  the  cross,  who  had 
expressed  the  wish — and  whose  wish  was  fulfilled — 
to  die  to  the  music  of  that  splendid  hymn. 

"Rock  of  Ages,  Cleft  for  Me,  let  me  hide  myself 
in  Thee!"  And  we  remember  that  dear  old  woman 
who,  though  a  mother  of  six  children  of  her  own, 
served  as  the  mother  of  the  eight  children  of  her 
dead  sisters;  a  dear  old  woman  who  left  the  imprint 
of  her  perfect  charity  upon  the  hearts  of  those  who 
were  the  beneficiaries  of  her  kindness,  even  as  she 
had  carefully  provided  for  their  current  necessities. 

"From  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains,  from  India's 
Coral  Strands!"  And  we  see  again  a  sweet-faced 
mother  of  the  sixties,  holding  in  her  arms  and  sooth- 
ing to  sweetest  sleep  the  babe  of  war-time  birth. 

"His  Loving  Kindness,  Oh,  How  Great!"  And 
we  recall  what  was  an  epoch  in  one  family  hfe  when 
the  elder  brother  was  led  to  the  baptismal  font  by 
a  gray-haired  priest  of  God. 

"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee!"  And  we  stand  at 
the  bier  of  a  faithful  father  concerning  whom  the 
ofl&ciating  clerg3ntnan,  speaking  in  perfect  truth,  said: 
"He  gave  to  the  world  considerably  more  than  the 
world  gave  to  him." 

"Faintly  Flow,  Thou  FaUing  River!"  And  we 
stand  at  the  death  bed  of  one  of  the  world's  grandest 
women.  To  fame  and  fortune  she  was  unknown. 
She  seemed  destined  for  grief  and  trouble,  and  if 
fidelity  and  patience  are  considered  in  the  selection 
of  the  burden-bearers  of  the  world,  the  assignment 
in  this  instance  was  well  made.     As  a  maiden,  "none 


82  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

knew  her  but  to  love  her,  none  named  her  but  to 
praise";  as  a  wife  she  was  constant  and  true;  as  a 
mother  she  so  impressed  her  personality  upon  her 
children  that,  although  she  has  been  dead  for  many, 
many  years,  she  still  stands  ever  at  their  side,  the 
recollections  of  her  loving  kindness,  her  self-sacri- 
ficing devotion,  and  her  superb  example  serving  as 
an  inspiration  to  those  who  have  the  proud  privilege 
of  calling  her  "mother."  What  a  memory  chord  the 
sweet  notes  of  "Faintly  Flow,  Thou  Falling  River" 
strike  in  the  hearts  of  some  men  and  women  now 
growing  gray! 

"Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus!"  And  we  stand  at 
the  open  door  of  a  chamber  where  a  little  life  has 
just  gone  out.  Within  that  room  there  are  no  tears, 
there  are  no  sobs — the  pain  is  too  acute  for  that. 
Even  "great  griefs  are  voiceless,"  and  in  this,  the 
greatest  of  all  griefs  which  Providence  in  its  infinite 
and  inscrutable  wisdom  has  inflicted  upon  men,  there 
is  no  sound  but  the  mighty  throbbing  of  the  parents' 
troubled  heart;  and  that  the  heart  of  mere  man  can 
withstand  such  tumult  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world. 

The  shadows  of  night  had  fallen,  several  years  ago, 
in  a  home  where,  for  a  week  gone  by,  no  one  had 
slept.  The  baby  of  the  household  was  dying.  The 
father  and  mother  knelt  at  the  bedside,  and  beside 
them  stood  a  fine  old  neighbor — a  gray-haired 
woman,  herself  the  mother  of  many  children,  living 
and  dead.  During  her  whole  Ufe  it  seemed  as  though 
she  had  been  commissioned  to  be  a  comforter  for 
troubled  men.  When  the  end  came,  it  was  this 
good   woman  who,   with  infinite   tenderness,  folded 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  83 

the  tiny  hands  over  the  little  breast.  Then, 
placing  her  arms  affectionately  around  the  grief- 
stricken  parents,  this  good  woman  said,  simply: 
"You  needn't  worry  any  more,  now.  He's  safe  in 
the  arms  of  Jesus." 

Do  you  wonder  that  even  now  the  notes  of  that 
sweet  song  stir  a  tender  memory  within  the  hearts 
of  that  father  and  mother? 

When  the  call:  "Pass  Under  the  Rod"  comes  to 
the  parent  who  loves  his  child  better  than  life  itself, 
there  is  one  story  of  love  upon  which  he  delights  to 
dwell.  It  is  the  story  of  the  Kazarene's  concern  for 
the  children.  As  he  cared  for  them,  so,  instinctively, 
they  turned  to  Him.  It  is  an  oft-told  tale,  but  it 
grows  sweeter  with  the  telling;  and  nowhere  has  it 
been  better  told  than  when,  in  vagrant  verse,  it  was 
written: 

"They  brought  Him  their  babes  and  besought  Him, 

Half  kneeling  with  suppliant  air, 
To  bless  the  brown  cherubs  they  brought  Him 

With  Holy  hands  laid  on  their  hair. 
Then,  reaching  His  hands,  he  said,  lowly: 

'Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,'  and  then 
Took  the  brown  little  babes  in  the  Holy 

White  hands  of  the  Savior  of  men; 
Held  them  close  to  his  heart,  and  caressed  them; 

Put  His  face  down  to  theirs  as  in  prayer; 
Put  their  hands  to  His  neck,  and  so  blessed  them, 

With  baby  hands  hid  in  His  hair." 


84  ''Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


THE     STORY    OF    THE     NINETY    AND    NINE 

^HE  BEST  expression  of  divine  afiection  for 
all  men  and  a  complete  description  of  the 


parent's  love  for  the  child  is  found  in  the 
hymn  familiar  the  world  over,  and  known 
as  "The  Ninety  and  Nine." 

A  writer  who  declared,  "We  never  know  the  love 
of  the  parent  till  we  become  parents  ourselves,"  ex- 
plained: "When  we  first  bend  over  the  cradle  of 
our  own  child  God  throws  back  the  temple  door,  and 
reveals  to  us  the  sacredness  and  mystery  of  the 
father's  and  the  mother's  love  to  ourselves.  And 
in  later  years,  when  they  have  gone  from  us,  there 
is  always  a  certain  sorrow  that  we  cannot  tell  them 
we  have  found  it  out." 

Will  any  parent  who  has  learned  "how  sharper 
than  a  serpent's  tooth  it  is  to  have  a  thankless  child," 
object  to  an  humble  effort  to  "throw  back  the  temple 
door?"  Will  any  child,  who,  verging  upon  manhood 
or  womanhood,  has  failed  to  appreciate  the  parent's 
love,  refuse  to  observe  the  moral  of  this  tale? 
Listen  to  the  story  of  "The  Ninety  and  Nine!" 
That  story  is  not  entirely  the  product  of  human 
minds.  It  is  founded  on  the  declaration  of  the 
Nazarene:  "How,  think  ye?  If  a  man  have  an 
hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  be  gone  astray, 
doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  and  goeth 
into  the  mountains  and  seeketh  that  which  is  gone 
astray?  And  if  so  be  that  he  find  it,  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  he  rejoiceth  more  of  that  sheep  than  of 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  85 

the  ninety  and  nine  which  went  not  astray.  Even 
so,  it  is  not  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven 
that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish." 

Moody  and  Sankey,  famous  evangelists,  were  riding 
en  route  to  Edinburgh,  when  Mr.  Sankey,  happening 
to  pick  up  a  newspaper,  read  in  an  obscure  corner 
of  the  publication,  a  little  poem  entitled:  "The 
Ninety  and  Nine."     The  poem  was  as  follows: 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 

In  the  shelter  of  the  fold, 
But  one  was  out  on  the  hills  away, 

Far  off  from  the  gates  of  gold — 
Away  on  the  mountains,  wild  and  bare, 
Away  from  the  tender  Shepherd's  care. 

"Lord,  Thou  hast  here  Thy  ninety  and  nine; 

Are  they  not  enough  for  thee?" 
But  the  Shepherd  made  answer: 

"This  of  Mine  has  wandered  away  from  me, 
And  although  the  road  be  rough  and  steep, 
I  go  to  the  desert  to  find  My  sheep." 

But  none  of  the  ransomed  ever  knew 

How  deep  were  the  waters  crossed; 
Nor  how  dark  was  the  night  that  the  Lord  passed  thro'. 

Ere  He  found  His  sheep  that  was  lost; 
Out  in  the  desert  He  heard  its  cry — 
Sick  and  helpless  and  ready  to  die. 

"Lord,  whence  are  those  blood-drops  all  the  way, 

That  mark  out  the  mountain's  track?" 
"They  were  shed  for  one  who  had  gone  astray. 

Ere  the  Shepherd  could  bring  him  back." 
"Lord,  whence  are  Thy  hands  so  rent  and  torn?" 
"They  are  pierced  to-night  by  many  a  thorn." 


86  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

But  all  through  the  mountains,  thunder-riven, 

And  up  from  the  rocky  steep, 
There  arose  a  glad  cry  to  the  gate  of  heaven, 

"Rejoice!    I  have  found  My  sheep!" 
And  the  angels  echoed  around  the  throne, 
"Rejoice!      For  the  Lord  brings  back  His  own." 

The  editor  seemed  not  to  have  been  greatly  im- 
pressed with  the  beauties  of  the  poem  that  has  since 
become  famous;  but  Mr.  Sankey  recognized  its 
merits  at  a  glance,  and  turning  to  Mr.  Moody,  he 
declared:    "I  have  found  my  hymn." 

That  night,  in  the  presence  of  15,000  men,  women 
and  children,  gathered  at  the  great  revival  meeting, 
Mr.  Sankey  announced  that  he  was  about  to  sing  a 
new  song,  and  that  he  was,  at  the  moment,  ignorant 
of  its  notes.  He  said  he  was  so  impressed  with  the 
language  that  he  would  depend  upon  some  inspira- 
tion to  find  the  music.  Seating  himself  at  the  organ 
he  sang  that  splendid  hymn  to  the  air  now  familiar 
to  millions  of  men  all  over  the  world.  It  is  inter- 
esting, if  not  significant,  that  when,  for  the  first 
time,  Mr.  Sankey  sang  this  song,  he  did  not  know, 
nor  did  the  world  know,  the  name  of  the  author  of 
the  verse.  It  was  first  printed  as  a  poem,  and 
without  the  author's  name  attached,  and  it  was 
only  in  later  years  that  it  became  known  that  the 
beautiful  words  were  written  by  Elizabeth  C.  Cle- 
phane.  Mr.  Sankey  repeatedly  and  publicly  said 
that  until  he  took  his  seat  at  the  organ  in  the  Edin- 
burgh meeting,  he  had  no  idea  of  the  notes  which 
he  would  apply  to  the  words. 

As  EUzabeth  Clephane,  converting  the  Savior's 
words  into   beautiful   verse,   touched   the   hearts   of 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  87 

the  modems,  who  sometimes  understand  in  poetry 
what  they  fail  to  grasp  in  parable;  as  Sankey,  setting 
to  music  those  inspiring  words,  made  men  to  know 
that  of  which  they  had  been  ignorant;  so  some  one 
whose  identity  is  yet  unknown,  but  who  is  deserving 
of  high  fame,  reduced  the  Clephane  poem  and  the 
Sankey  song  into  the  negro  vernacular,  giving  to  the 
world  the  story  of  the  "ninety  and  nine"  in  its 
sweetest  version. 

The  London  Express  says  that  Mrs.  Charles  M. 
Alexander,  wife  of  the  famous  gospel  singer  of  the 
Torre y- Alexander  mission,  recited  the  "Darkey's 
version"  of  "The  Ninety  and  Nine,"  to  10,000  people 
at  Albert  hall,  London,  on  the  evening  of  March  22. 
The  Express  adds:  "The  poem  describes  in  negro 
vernacular  the  story  of  the  search  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd for  the  one  sheep  of  his  flock."  The  poem 
follows : 

Por  lil  brack  sheep,  don  strayed  away, 

Don  los  in  de  win  an'  de  rain; 
And  de  Shepherd,  He  say,  "0  hirelin, 

Go  find  my  sheep  again." 
But  de  hirelin  frown — "0  Shepherd, 

Dat  sheep  am  brack  and  bad." 
But  de  Shepherd,  He  smUe  like  de  lil  brack  sheep 

Wuz  de  onliest  lamb  he  had. 

An'  He  say,  "0  hirelin,  hasten, 

For  de  win  and  de  rain  am  col; 
An'  dat  lil  brack  sheep  am  lonsome. 

Out  dar  so  far  from  de  fol." 
De  hirelin  frown,  "0  Shepherd, 

Dat  sheep  am  ol  and  gray," 
But  de  Shepherd,  He  smile  like  de  iii  brack  sheep 

Wuz  fair  as  de  break  ob  day! 


88  **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 


An'  He  say,  "0  hirelin,  hasten, 

Lo,  here  am  de  ninety-an'-nine, 
But  dar,  way  off  from  de  sheep-fol, 

Is  dat  lil  brack  sheep  ob  Mine." 
An'  de  hirelin  frown,  "0  Shepherd, 

De  res  ob  de  sheep  am  here," 
But  de  Shepherd,  He  smile  like  de  lil  brack  sheep 

He  hoi  it  de  mostest  dear. 

An'  de  Shepherd  go  out  in  de  darkness, 

Where  de  night  was  col  and  bleak; 
And  dat  lil  brack  sheep.  He  fin  it, 

An'  lay  it  agains  His  cheek. 
An'  de  hireUn  frown,  "0  Shepherd, 

Don'  bring  dat  sheep  to  me." 
But  de  Shepherd,  He  smile,  a'n  He  hoi  it  close, 

An' — dat  lil  brack  sheep — wuz — me! 

Several  years  ago  a  desperate  man  rushed  into  the 
oflBce  of  Russell  Sage,  the  great  financier,  and  ex- 
ploded a  bomb.  Mr.  Sage  escaped  injury,  but  his 
assailant  was  blown  to  pieces.  While  poUce  officers, 
surgeons  and  newspaper  men  were  gathered  about  the 
place,  a  woman  with  a  shawl  over  her  head  rushed 
into  the  office,  and,  kneeling  in  a  corner  of  the  room, 
drew  aside  a  piece  of  sheeting,  and  pressed  to  her 
bosom  the  dissevered  head  of  the  bomb-thrower. 
No  one  present  knew  the  woman,  but  every  one 
instinctively  knew  that  she  was  the  mother  of  Russell 
Sage's  assailant.  And  that  is  "the  story  of  the 
ninety  and  nine!" 

Nan  Patterson,  charged  with  the  awful  crime  of 
murder,  disowned  by  her  friends,  and  disgraced 
before  the  world,  stood  in  New  York's  criminal  court 
helpless  and  alone — yet  not  alone,  because  her  faith- 
ful  father   went     to    her   support.     Nan    Patterson 


<<  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  89 

found  there  that  the  same  father  whose  wise  counsels 
she  had  ignored  in  her  youth,  was,  even  in  spite  of 
her  indifferences,  anxious  to  give  comfort  in  her 
necessity.  That  is  "the  story  of  the  ninety  and 
nine!" 

General  Mohneaux,  one  of  the  gallant  officers  of 
our  civil  war,  was  brought  to  grief  by  the  escapades 
of  a  son.  But  General  Molineaux,  true  parent  that 
he  was,  forgot  the  wickedness  of  the  man  charged 
with  crime  in  the  love  he  had  for  his  boy.  All  the 
world  knows  of  the  devotion  which  this  fine  soldier 
and  good  citizen  displayed  during  the  agonizing 
hours  of  his  son's  trial.  That  is  "the  story  of  the 
ninety  and  nine!" 

The  father — proud  of  the  honored  position  he 
has  won  in  the  world,  through  correct  living,  and 
jealous  of  his  household's  name — rushing  to  the 
poHce  court  to  rescue  a  boy  guilty  of  crime;  the 
mother,  braving  the  frowns  of  society  in  order  to 
save,  not  from  shame — for  it  is  too  late  for  that — 
but  from  utter  destruction,  the  daughter  whom 
she  loves  better  than  Ufe  itself;  the  parents 
everywhere,  spending  sleepless  nights  and  care-worn 
days,  troubled  over  the  future  of  their  child;  the 
anxiety  for  the  whereabouts  of  the  boy  or  girl  when 
the  shadows  of  night  have  fallen;  the  incurrence 
of  debts  by  fathers,  and  the  sacrifices  of  comforts 
by  mothers  in  order  that  a  loved  one  may  take  its 
coveted  position  in  the  world;  the  prayers,  the  tears, 
the  sobs  given  by  God-loving  parents  in  behalf  of 
heedless  offspring;  the  hopes,  the  sighs,  the  aspira- 
tions, the  love — all  too  often  scattered  like  sweetness 
on  the  desert  air— by  devoted  parent  for  wa3rward 


90  *'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


■to^ 


child — all  these  are  but  representative  of  *'the  story 
of  the  ninety  and  nine." 

In  the  presence  of  all  this  love,  of  all  these  tears, 
and  sighs,  and  sacrifices,  is  it  any  wonder  that  there 
involuntarily  arises  the  prayer — or  if  you  choose  to 
call  it  the  wish  :  Would  that  the  children  could 
appreciate  the  love  of  the  parents  before  it  is  too 
late  !  Would  that  the  children  could  understand 
"the  story  of  the  ninety  and  nine";  but  none  of  the 
ransomed  ever  know  how  deep  are  the  waters  crossed, 
nor  how  dark  is  the  night  that  the  shepherd  goes 
through,  ere  he  finds  His  sheep  that  was  lost. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »'  91 


THE  MAJESTY  OF  THE  MOTHER'S  LOVE 

[EWSPAPER  readers  are  quite  familiar  with 
the  details  of  a  divorce  suit  between  a  couple 
conspicuous  in  the  social  life  of  the  United 
States  army.  Charges  and  counter  charges 
were  made,  and  the  result  was  that  the  husband 
was  given  the  decree  with  the  possession  of  the  two 
children. 

Among  the  black  stories  that  emanated  from  that 
court  room,  there  was  one  bright  tale.  Among  the 
deeply  interested  participants  there  was  one  stalwart 
figure.  The  figure  was  the  twelve  year  old  lad  of 
the  divorced  couple,  and  the  tale  relates  to  the  fidelity 
he  displayed  toward  the  woman  who  gave  him  birth. 

Given  into  the  custody  of  his  father,  this  manly 
lad,  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  court  boldly  and 
roundly  denounced  him  for  the  charges  he  had  made 
against  the  mother.  Stoutly  maintaining  his  faith 
in  his  mother's  innocence,  he  publicly  condemned  the 
father  for  alleged  brutalities,  and,  forced  to  accom- 
pany his  father,  he  announced  his  determination  to 
rejoin  his  mother  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

That  was  at  once  a  pathetic  and  a  splendid  scene. 
Some  may  imagine,  but  none  can  describe,  the  emo- 
tions that  rocked  the  tender  heart  of  this  boy.  In 
addition  to  being  deprived  of  a  home  where  the 
mother  is  "the  sweet  rallying  point  'round  which 
affection  and  obedience,  and  a  thousand  tender  en- 
deavors to  please  concentrate,"  he  was  required  to 


92  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

witness  a  foul  stain  upon  the  fair  name  of  his  first 
and  best  friend. 

In  this  view  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  woman 
need  not  be  considered.  Guilty  or  innocent,  the  boy's 
faith  was  superb.  Innocent  or  guilty,  the  boy's 
fidelity  was  magnificent.  He  may  have  heard  things 
which  he  cannot  understand;  he  may  have  listened 
to  indictments  which  he  could  not  explain.  The 
central  fact  with  him  was  that  she  was  his  mother, 
and  to  him  and  to  his  boyish  innocence  and  faith,  "a 
mother  is  a  mother  still,  the  holiest  thing  alive." 
Whether  his  fine  devotion  was  due  more  to  love  than 
to  faith,  he  might  have  joined  with  Tom  Moore  in 
that  sentiment  which  Poe  said  "embodied  the  all  in 
all  of  the  divine  passion  of  love — a  sentiment  which, 
perhaps,  has  found  its  echo  in  more,  and  in  more 
passionate,  human  hearts,  than  any  other  single  sen- 
timent ever  embodied  in  words:" 

"Here  still  is  the  smile  that  no  cloud  can  o'ercast, 
And  a  heart  and  a  hand  all  thy  own  till  the  last. 
Oh!  what  was  love  made  for,  if  'tis  not  the  same 
Through  joy  and  through  torment,  through  glory  and  shame? 
I  know  not,  I  ask  not,  if  guilt's  in  that  heart, 
I  know  that  I  love  thee,  whatever  thou  art. 
Thou  hast  called  me  thy  Angel  in  moments  of  bliss, 
And  thy  Angel  I'll  be  'mid  the  horrors  of  this — 
Through  the  furnace,  unshrinking,  thy  steps  to  pursue, 
And  shield  thee,  and  save  thee — or  perish  there  too!" 

If  devotion  such  as  this  be  shown  for  one  whose 
name  has,  at  least,  been  tarnished,  what  words  may 
be  used  to  describe  the  loyalty  due  one  whose  name 
is  a  synonym  for  purity? 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  93 

It  will  not  do  this  world  a  bit  of  harm  for  its  men 
— and  its  boys,  too — to  be  frequently  reminded  of 
the  great  debt  they  owe  their  mothers.  From  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  her  own  life  as  mother,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  her  children's  lives,  she 
is  the  burden  bearer  of  burden  bearers,  and  the 
wonder  of  it  all  is  that  in  her  delicate  construction 
there  is  strength  to  carry  the  loads. 

The  secret  of  her  love  and  sacrifice  was  told  by 
one  who  wrote:  "Her  first  ministration  for  her  in- 
fant is  to  enter,  as  it  were,  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  and  win  its  life  at  the  peril  of  her  own.  How 
different  must  an  affection  thus  founded  be  from  all 
others." 

And  how  different,  indeed,  from  all  others,  is  the 
mother's  affection  for  her  children! 

The  majesty  of  a  mother's  love  is  indescribable. 
In  the  language  of  another,  "it  shrinks  not  where 
man  cowers;  and  grows  stronger  where  man  faints; 
and  from  the  wastes  of  worldly  fortune  sends  the 
radiance  of  its  quenchless  fidelity  like  a  star  in 
heaven." 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  the  tragedies  of  life  that  the 
mother  love  is  felt;  it  manifests  itself  all  along  the 
line;  and  the  routine  life  of  the  mother  is  one  contin- 
ual round  of  self-sacrifice,  of  attentions  great  and 
small — the  greatest  consequential  to  the  child's  future 
and  the  smallest  indispensable  to  its  present  day 
happiness. 

"Who  ran  to  help  me  when  I  fell, 
And  would  some  pretty  story  tell, 
Or  kiss  the  place  to  make  it  well? 
My  mother!" 


94  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >' 

Did  5'^ou  ever  think  of  the  endless  and  various 
little  duties  confronting  the  mother  every  day  of 
the  year?  One  hour  devoted  to  the  discharge  of 
these  duties  to  the  children  would  drive  the  average 
man  stark  mad.  From  morning  until  night,  and  in 
cases  of  sickness  or  of  fretfulness  sometimes  from 
night  until  morning,  this  heroine  of  the  hearthstone 
keeps  ever  at  her  task.  With  all  of  the  boundless 
attention  required  by  her  little  ones  a  large  share  of 
her  notice  must  be  given  to  the  little  necessities  of 
the  father,  who,  in  many  cases,  is  the  greatest  baby 
of  them  all.  What  a  wonderful  amount  of  work  she 
is  able  to  accomplish!  How  many  things  she  seems 
to  do  all  at  the  same  time!  At  one  moment  she  is 
preparing  the  father  for  his  daily  journey  to  the 
business  district — and  in  most  cases  this  is  no  mean 
task  either — and  between  steps,  as  it  were,  she  is 
preparing  the  children  for  school.  In  locating  miss- 
ing articles  essential  to  the  dress  she  is  a  veritable 
Sherlock  Hohnes.  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  the 
boy's  cap,  or  the  girl's  scarlet  hood  has  a  mysterious 
way  of  hiding  itself?  And  did  it  ever  occur  to  you, 
also,  that  through  some  mysterious  power  the  mother 
is  always  able  to  locate  the  missing  article?  In  such 
a  search  the  combined  efforts  of  the  father,  the  chil- 
dren and  the  domestic,  would  be  unavailing,  even 
though  they  extended  over  a  considerable  period  o,^ 
time,  while  the  mother,  who  in  the  first  place  ca*^ 
not  possibly  have  any  idea  as  to  the  headgear's 
location,  seems  instinctively  drawn  to  its  hiding 
place.  This  provides  but  a  meagre  description  of 
the  wonderful  capabilities  of  the  mother  in  the  little 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  95 

things  in  household  affairs.  But  these  things  are 
familiar  to  every  man  who  remembers  the  kind  offices 
of  his  own  good  mother,  and  to  every  husband  who 
stands  uncovered  in  the  presence  of  his  good  wife's 
ministrations  to  his  own  little  ones. 

Did  you  ever  notice  the  large  difficulties  under 
which  a  great,  powerful  man  struggles  when  he 
escorts  two  or  three  children  to  a  circus  or  a  county 
fair?  In  the  parlance  of  the  street,  he  is  "sweating 
blood,"  and  you  have  no  difficulty  in  imagining  that 
under  his  breath  he  is  singing  "A  charge  to  keep  I 
have."  And  did  you  ever  notice  how  deftly  a  mother, 
perhaps  already  worn  and  weary  from  her  household 
work,  handles,  on  similar  occasions,  half  a  dozen 
nervous,  impatient  little  ones?  Perhaps  she  is  carry- 
ing one  of  them  on  a  tired  arm,  and  holding  another 
with  a  weary  hand,  while  all  the  time  she  is  keeping 
a  watchful  eye  on  the  balance  of  the  group;  and  all 
the  time  without  a  sign  of  weariness,  and  without  a 
display  of  impatience. 

How  intimately  a  mother's  sympathies  and  senti- 
ments are  linked  with  those  of  the  child!  The  boy 
cannot  enter  his  home  so  late  at  night,  nor  so  stealth- 
ily, as  to  avoid  his  mother's  notice;  and  the  innocent 
inquiry,  "is  that  you,  Will?"  is  as  familiar  to  the 
boys  of  today  as  to  the  boys  of  forty  years  ago.  She 
may  be  in  a  far  away  room,  and  yet,  during  the 
dead  of  night,  when  a  little  one  who  has,  perhaps, 
taken  a  cold,  sneezes,  she  can,  though  the  mother 
of  half  a  dozen,  immediately  distinguish  the  owner  of 
the  sneeze.  She  may  be  sitting  in  a  room  several 
rooms   away  from  the  cookery,  and    yet  she  seems 


96  ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

able  to  tell  instinctively,  just  when  th6  hand  of  a 
healthy  boy  has  been  thrust  into  the  cookeyjar.  She 
can  detect  the  falsehood  where  the  father  would  see 
nothing  but  truth.  She  can  recognize  as  correct  a 
statement  which  the  father  might  question.  She 
knows  the  weakness  of  every  child,  and  to  that 
extent  knows  just  how  much  should  be  forgiven.  She 
accomplishes  so  much,  loves  so  much,  and  sacrifices 
so  much  that  the  father,  conscious  of  his  own  short- 
comings, must  oftentimes  stand  abashed  in  her 
presence. 

One  of  the  prettiest  stories  ever  told  relates  to 
the  devotion  shown  by  a  distinguished  Kebraskan 
to  the  memory  of  his  boys'  mother.  This  gentleman 
caused  to  be  erected  over  that  mother's  grave  a  stone 
upon  which  his  own  name  as  husband,  and  the  names 
of  his  boys  as  sons  of  that  good  woman,  were  in- 
scribed. After  the  stone  had  been  put  in  place,  he 
took  his  four  boys  to  the  cemetery,  and  kneeling  at 
that  grave,  directed  their  attention  to  the  fact  that 
their  names  had  been  highly  honored  by  being 
written  on  that  slab  of  marble.  Then,  paying  a 
high  and  deserved  tribute  to  the  fine  character  of 
that  mother,  the  father  said:  "Boys,  if  any  one 
of  you  ever  does  anything  to  dishonor  this  memory, 
I  will    have  his  name   chiseled    from    this  stone." 

It  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  all  the  boys  of  the 
world  if  the  love  and  devotion  shown  for  them  by 
their  mothers  could  ever  be  impressed  upon  them. 
If  the  boys  would  be  ever  careful  lest  they  do  some- 
thing that,  if  known,  would  bring  pain  and  sorrow 
to  the  mother  heart,  the  future  of  the  world  would 
be  secure. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  97 

Many  years  ago  one  of  the  best  of  mothers  fell 
"asleep  at  the  gates  of  light."  All  of  her  children, 
of  course,  revered  her  memory;  but  one  of  them  was 
the  babe  of  war-time  birth,  and  owing  to  the  anxie- 
ties and  excitements  of  the  period,  and  the  continued 
absence  of  the  father,  extraordinary  affection  and 
devotion  was,  doubtless,  lavished  upon  him. 

Perhaps  it  was  because  of  this,  that  after  the 
mother's  death,  and  for  many  years,  this  boy  never 
retired  for  the  night  without  placing  at  his  bedside 
a  chair,  under  the  childish  impression  that  his  mother 
would  occupy  it  and  watch  him  to  sleep. 

When  other  boys  would  write  in  sand  or  carve  on 
trees  the  names  of  sweethearts  dear,  this  lad  would 
trace  with  knife  or  stick  the  name  of  his  sv/eetheart 
— his  mother's  name. 

When  but  a  boy  he  chose  his  sweetheart's  name 
as  one  to  be  given  to  his  own  daughter;  and  when 
in  later  years  he  wrote  some  tales  of  love  and  life,  his 
heroine,  good  and  true,  bore  with  signal  honor  and 
renown,  the  name  he  loved  so  well.  So,  through 
boyhood's  days  this  precious  memory  was  enshrined 
within  his  heart;  the  purity,  the  devotion,  the  sacri- 
fices, the  sorrows  of  this  patient,  God  loving  and  God 
serving  woman  were  ever  before  him,  often  deterring 
him  from  evil,  and  sometimes  inspiring  him  for  good. 

"Happy  he  with  such  a  mother!  Faith  in  woman- 
kind beats  with  his  blood,  and  trust  in  all  things 
high  comes  easy  to  him." 

There  are  living  today  many  such  mothers.  If 
the  boys  could  only  appreciate  their  loving  kindness 


98  ^*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >' 

while  they  live,  life  would  be  sweeter  to  them.  If 
those  who  now  have  the  companionship  of  the  boy's 
best  friend  could  only  know  all  they  will  lose  when 
that  companionship  ends,  the  pathway  of  the  mothers 
of   the  world  would  today  be  strewn  with  roses. 

The  regrets  for  thoughtless  acts  and  indifference 
to  admonitions  now  felt  and  expressed  by  many 
living  sons  of  dead  mothers  will,  in  time,  be  felt 
and  expressed  by  the  living  sons  of  living  mothers. 
The  boys  of  today  who  do  not  understand  the  value 
of  the  mother's  companionship,  will  yet  sing — with 
those  who  already  know — this  song  of  tribute  and 
regret: 

"The  hours  I  spent  with  thee,  dear  heart, 
Are  as  a  string  of  pearls  to  me; 
I  count  them  over,  every  one  apart, 
My  rosary. 

"Each  hour  a  pearl,  each  pearl  a  prayer, 
To  still  a  heart  in  absence  v/rung; 
I  tell  each  bead  unto  the  end,  and  there 
A  cross  is  hung. 

"0  memories  that  bless — and  burn! 

0  mighty  gain  and  bitter  loss! 
I  kiss  each  bead  and  strive  at  last  to  learn 

To  kiss  the  cross, 

Sweet  heart, 

To  kiss  the  cross." 


li 


Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '»  99 


THE  BREAMS  THAT  COME  TRUE 

I  WO  business  men  were  spending  an  evening 
together.  One  asked  the  other:  "How  do 
you  manage  to  break  away  from  your  work 
in  thought  as  well  as  in  deed?"  His  com- 
panion replied:  "One  method  I  v/iii  describe  by 
a  little  story.  The  other  day  was  a  very  busy  one 
to  me,  and  v/hen  I  v/as  ready  to  go  home,  I 
found  my  mind  full  of  my  work.  I  put  one  million 
dollars  in  my  pocket,  stepped  on  the  rear  platform 
of  a  street  car,  lighted  a  good  cigar,  and  proceeded 
to  spend  the  money  according  to  the  methods  which 
I  hope  I  would  employ  if  I  really  had  a  fortune. 
I  did  not  a^vaken  from  my  dream  until  I  stepped 
across  the  threshold  of  my  homxe,  and  was  greeted 
by  the  children.  I  had  left  my  v/ork  entirely  behind 
me  and  had  had  all  the  pleasures  of  distributing  the 
million  dollars  without  any  of  the  attendant  respon- 
sibilities." 

The  first  speaker  asked:  "Do  you  often  indulge 
in  such  dreams?" 

The  other  replied:  "Not  too  often,  but  just  often 
enough." 

The  first  speaker  said:  "I'm  glad  you  have  made 
that  confession.  I  have  indulged  in  that  pastime 
myself  frequently,  and  I  began  to  fear  for  my  mental 
condition." 

While  we  are  told  by  one  of  the  old  poets  that 
hearts  have  been  broken  and  heads  have  been  crushed 


100         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '> 

by  giving  fancy  such  a  free  rein,  we  know  that  in 
the  language  of  that  same  poet,  "there's  mony  a 
mighty  mon  building  castles  i*  the  air."  These 
dreams  are  doubtless  indulged  in  by  men  in  every 
walk  of  life.  With  some  the  dream  never  goes  higher 
than  fancy,  but  with  others  it  is  of  that  order  that 
entitles  it  to  rank  as  imagination. 

Emerson  gave  us  the  distinction  when  he  said: 
"Fancy  amuses;  imagination  expands  and  exhausts. 
Imagination  is  the  vision  of  an  inspired  soul,  but  as 
the  soul  is  released  a  little  from  its  passion,  and  at 
leisure  plays  with  the  resemblances  and  types  for 
amusement,  and  not  for  its  moral  end,  we  call  its 
action  fancy." 

One  great  poet  has  called  the  air  built  castle  "the 
fool's  paradise,"  but  another  poet  has  provided  for 
those  who  at  times  yield  to  the  temptation  to  roam 
in  that  paradise  the  apology  that  "we  figure  to  our- 
selves the  thing  we  like;  and  then  we  build  it  up,  as 
chance  will  have  it,  on  the  rock  or  sand — for  thought 
is  tired  of  wandering  o'er  the  world,  and  home- 
bound  fancy  runs  her  bark  ashore." 

Even  though  one  would  not  be  willing  to  condemn 
the  practice  of  building  air  castles  such  as  were  con- 
structed by  our  million  dollar  philanthropist,  there 
will  be  little  disposition  to  deny  the  propriety  of  the 
admonition  that  such  fancies  should  not  be  indulged 
in  "too  often,"  and  we  are  all,  perhaps,  prepared  to 
agree  that  "often  enough"  is,  indeed,  often  enough. 

A  man  upon  whom  fortune  had  not  always  smiled 
purchased  on  one  occasion  a  ticket  in  a  lottery.  It 
had   been   the  hope  of   the  members  of  this  man's 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         101 

household  to  have  at  some  time  a  horse  and  carriage, 
and  the  kind  hearted  parent  returning  to  his  home 
proudly  displayed  his  lottery  ticket,  and  calling  wife 
and  children  around  him  told  them  that  the  capital 
prize  was  $15,000.  He  then  drew  a  fine  picture  of 
the  carriage  which  he  intended  to  purchase  with  his 
prize. 

The  children  were,  of  course,  delighted  with  the 
prospect,  and  little  "Becky"  exclaimed:  "I'm  going 
to  ride  on  the  front  seat  with  papa!" 

But  "Ikey,"  the  brother,  put  in:  "No,  I'm  going 
to  ride  on  the  front  seat!" 

The  father  undertook  to  pacify  "Ikey,"  but  he 
seemed  bent  on  having  the  front  seat;  and  finally  the 
father,  bending  down,  as  it  were,  from  the  heights  of 
kis  air  castle,  exclaimed:  "Ikey,  get  right  down  out 
of  the  carriage!" 

Perhaps  this  is  even  a  better  illustration  than  that 
given  by  our  million  dollar  philanthropist  of  the  kind 
of  air  castles  the  construction  of  which  may  be  mere 
waste  of  time.  But  if  in  these  day-dreams  we  can 
obtain  that  recreation  which  many  men  say  they  do 
obtain  from  such  fancies,  without  the  danger  of  be- 
coming idle  dreamers,  there  is  little  harm  in  the 
pastime.  Indeed,  it  may  become  beneficial  if,  by 
yielding  to  fancy,  we  prepare  ourselves  for  that  im- 
agination which  plays  not  for  amusement,  but  for 
moral  end.  We  have  been  told  that  "as  imagination 
deUghts  in  presenting  to  the  mind  scenes  and  char- 
acters more  perfect  than  those  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted with,  it  prevents  us  from  ever  being  com- 
pletely satisfied  with  our  present  condition,  or  with 


102         "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

our  past  attainments,  and  engages  us  continually  in 
the  pursuit  of  some  untried  enjoyment  or  of  some 
ideal  excellence";  and  further:  "Destroy  this  faculty, 
and  the  condition  of  man  will  become  as  stationary 
as  that  of  the  brutes." 

Goschen,  the  English  statesman,  gave,  in  an  ad- 
dress delivered  at  Edinburgh  college,  an  interesting 
description  of  the  uses  of  the  imagination.  He 
declared  that  one  of  the  most  precious  faculties 
which  Providence  has  planted  in  the  human  breast 
is  "the  faculty  of  wise,  sympathetic,  disciplined, 
prospective  imagination."  He  referred  to  "construc- 
tive imagination,"  which  having  the  power  of  pictur- 
ing absent  things,  "takes  its  start  from  facts,  but 
supplem.ents  them  and  does  not  contradict  them." 
He  contrasted  constructive  imagination  with  analysis, 
saying  that  the  latter  eliminates,  separates,  strips  off, 
reduces,  while  the  former  proceeds  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

Coleridge  said  that  Tom  Moore  had  fancy,  but  no 
imagination;  but  Poe  explained  that  Moore's  fancy 
"so  far  predominated  over  all  his  other  faculties,  and 
over  the  fancy  of  all  other  men,  as  to  have  induced, 
very  naturally,  the  idea  that  he  was  fanciful  only." 
And  Poe  declared  that  by  Coleridge's  estimate 
"never  was  a  greater  wrong  done  the  fame  of  a  true 
poet." 

One  of  the  world's  greatest  word  builders  has  told 
us  that  the  man  of  im.agination  is  merely  the  man 
of  genius;  that  that  man  having  seen  a  leaf  and  a 
drop  of  water  can  construct  the  forests,  the  rivers, 
and  the  seas,  and  that  in  his  presence  all  the  cataracts 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         103 

fall  and  foam,  the  mists  rise,  the  clouds  form  and 
float;  that  he  has  lived  the  life  of  all  people,  of  all 
races;  that  he  knows  all  crimes  and  all  regrets,  all 
virtues  and  their  rich  rewards;  that  he  has  been  victim 
and  victor,  pursuer  and  pursued,  outcast  and  king, 
has  heard  the  applauses  and  curses  of  the  world,  and 
on  his  heart  have  fallen  all  the  nights  and  noons  of 
failure  and  success;  that  he  knows  the  unspoken 
thoughts,  the  dumb  desires,  the  wants  and  ways  of 
beasts;  that  he  has  knelt  with  awe  and  dread  at  every 
shrine;  has  offered  every  sacrifice  and  every  prayer; 
that  he  has  lived  all  lives,  and  through  his  blood  and 
brain  have  crept  the  shadow  and  the  chill  of  every 
death,  while  his  soul,  Mazeppa-like,  has  been  lashed 
naked  to  the  wild  horse  of  every  fear,  and  love,  and 
hate.  And  the  greatest  castle-builder  among  all  the 
architects  of  the  air,  the  greatest  dreamer  of  all  the 
dreamers  of  the  world  concluded  this  powerful  de- 
scription: "The  imagination  hath  a  stage  within  the 
brain,  whereon  he  sets  all  scenes  that  lie  between 
the  morn  of  laughter  and  the  night  of  tears,  and 
where  his  players  body  forth  the  false  and  true,  the 
joys  and  griefs,  the  careless  shallows,  and  the  tragic 
deeps  of  every  life." 

The  man  who  slept  and  dreamed  that  life  was 
beauty  awoke  and  found  that  life  was  duty.  His 
was  of  the  dreams  that  come  true.  Toiling  on  un- 
ceasingly he  discovered  that  men  who  learn  that  life 
is  duty,  and  act  accordingly,  find  in  fact  that  life  is 
beauty. 

What  would  life  be  without  its  dreams?  What 
would  himaanity  do  without  its  dreamers?     The  value 


104         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

of  our  contributions  to  the  world  are  to  be  gauged 
by  the  character  of  our  dreams.  The  man  who  imag- 
ined that  he  had  one  milUon  dollars  and  found  pleasure 
in  dreaming  that  he  was  spending  it  for  the  benefit 
of  his  fellows,  is  not  likely  to  spoil  his  own  character 
by  his  dreams,  or  to  injure  society  by  the  cultivation 
of  fancies  of  that  order.  The  man  who,  having 
invested  in  a  lottery  ticket,  found  his  greatest  delight 
in  anticipating  the  pleasure  he  might  give  to  his  wife 
and  little  children,  had  in  him  the  stuff  out  of  which 
good  dreamers  are  made.  He  needed  but  to  separate 
himself  from  the  notion  that  outside  the  charmed 
circle  of  "frenzied  finance"  something  can  be  obtained 
for  nothing,  or  that  the  parent  can  bring  happiness 
to  his  loved  ones  without"  an  effort.  Had  that  dream 
been  realized  upon  through  the  medium  of  a  lottery 
ticket,  it  would  have  been  like  Dead  sea  fruit,  that 
tempts  the  eye  but  turns  to  ashes  on  the  lips.  It 
would  have  been  like  a  victory  without  a  struggle, 
an  achievement  without  an  effort,  a  prize  without  a 
contest,  a  token  of  love  without  a  sacrifice.  Such 
victories,  achievements,  prizes  and  tokens  are  with- 
out value. 

The  best  of  all  dreams  are  those  to  which,  perhaps, 
we  attach  not  the  greatest  importance.  But  they  are 
of  the  sort  that  come  true,  and  are  true,  just  as  "the 
best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life"  is  "the  little, 
nameless,  unremembered  acts  of  kindness  and  of 
love." 

The  dreams  of  love,  of  humanity,  of  righteousness, 
come  true.  They  are,  in  fact,  true  in  the  very  dream- 
ing.    Every  thought  that  contemplates  help  to  the 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >>         105 

helpless,  that  deals  with  the  uplifting  of  the  fallen, 
the  advancement  of  humanity,  the  dispensation  of 
charity,  the  sacrifice  of  the  strong  for  the  weak,  the 
checking  of  the  orphan's  sobs,  the  drying  of  the 
widow's  tears,  the  restoration  of  manhood  and  wo- 
manhood to  those  who  have  lost  hope,  the  winning 
of  the  world  to  truth — these  are  the  dreams  that 
make  life  worth  living,  these  are  the  dreams  that 
come  true. 

It  is  as  old  as  the  hills,  but  it  is  always  good:  When 
Abou  Ben  Adhem  awoke  one  night  from  a  deep 
dream  of  peace,  he  saw  an  angel  writing  in  a  book 
of  gold — 

"And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said: 

*What  writest  thou?'     The  vision  raised  its  head, 

And  with  a  look  made  of  all  sweet  accord, 

Answered:  'The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord;* 

•And  is  mine  one?'  said  Abou.     'Nay,  not  so,' 

Replied  the  angel.     Abou  spoke  more  low 

But  cheerily  still;  and  said:  'I  pray  thee,  then, 

Write  me  as  one  that  loves  his  fellow  men.' 

The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

It  came  again  with  a  great  wakening  light, 

And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had  blessed — 

And  lol    Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest." 


106  '*0f  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  " 


WHEN  THE  BOAT  HAS  TOUCHED  SHORE 

\T    IS   related    that    two    Scotch    fishermen, 
"Jamie"  and  "Sandy,"  belated  and  befogged 
on  a  rough  water,  were  in  some  trepidation 
lest    they   should   never  get   ashore   again. 
Finally  Jamie  said: 

"Sandy,  I'm  steerin',  and  I  think  you'd  better  put 
up  a  bit  of  a  prayer." 

"I  don't  know  how,"  said  Sandy. 

"If  ye  don't,  I'll  chuck  ye  overboard,"  said  Jamie. 

Sandy  began:  "Oh,  Lord,  I  never  asked  anything 
of  ye  for  fifteen  years,  and  if  ye'll  only  get  us  safe 
back  I'll  never  trouble  ye  again,  and" — 

"Whisht,  Sandy!"  said  Jamie,  "the  boat's  touched 
shore;  don't  be  beholden  to  anybody." 

This  is  not  the  only  instance  where  prayers  have 
ceased  when  "the  boat  has  touched  shore."  In  the 
midst  of  plenty  and  prosperity,  and  away  from  dan- 
gers and  vicissitudes,  men  become  wonderfully  puffed 
up.  But  a  great  transformation  takes  place  as  soon 
as  adversity  comes  upon  them.  It  is  all-important 
that  we  remember  our  helplessness,  and  give  thought 
to  the  arm  upon  which,  during  our  peril,  we  leaned, 
even  though  "the  boat  has  touched  shore." 

Were  you  brought  face  to  face  with  the  terrors,  the 
heart-aches,  and  the  pathos  of  the  drouth-stricken 
period?  Many  of  us  have  a  lively  recollection  of 
those  days,  and,  please  God,  may  they  never  come 
again!  During  one  of  these  seasons  of  drouth  the 
writer  spent  two  weeks  at  the  home  of  an  aged  farmer. 


'*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         107 

In  that  year  the  corn  had  obtained  a  fine  start,  and, 
as  though  to  mock  the  husbandman,  had  grown  to 
fine  proportions  only  to  be  burned  day  by  day  before 
his  very  eyes.  Great  fields  of  what,  with  the  aid  of 
a  very  little  rain,  would  have  become  magnificent 
grain,  were  being  literally  burned  up  by  the  sun's 
merciless  rays.  The  creeks  had  gone  dry.  The  far- 
mer was  required  to  economize  on  his  cattle's  food 
as  well  as  in  the  provision  for  his  own  table.  Turn 
in  whatever  way  one  would,  the  eye  rested  upon  great 
fields  of  blasted  crops,  and  one  could  see  men,  women 
and  children  on  their  knees,  praying  for  rain.  It 
happened  that  during  the  two  weeks  referred  to,  many 
promising  clouds  filled  the  sky.  For  several  days  the 
thunder  rolled,  the  lightning  flashed,  but  no  rain  fell. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  pathetic  sights  imaginable 
when,  in  the  presence  of  one  of  these  black  clouds, 
the  farmer  would  gather  his  family  and  his  visitors 
around  him,  and  with  his  fine  gray  hairs  uncovered, 
drop  upon  his  knees,  appealing  earnestly — and  yet  as 
it  developed,  ineffectively — that  the  God  he  bad  for 
so  long  faithfully  served  might  hearken  to  the  prayers 
made  by  his  helpless  creatures. 

At  one  time  while  the  members  of  that  little  gath- 
ering were  upon  their  knees  in  that  farmyard  a  few 
drops  of  rain  fell  from  a  black  cloud.  No  more  dra- 
matic scene  has  ever  been  placed  upon  the  stage  than 
when  that  fine  old  fanner,  confident  that  his  prayers 
were  about  to  be  answered,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and, 
extending  his  long  arms  toward  heaven,  shouted,  as 
though  he  wanted  the  world  to  hear;    "We  thank 


108         "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

Thee,  0  God,  for  Thy  bounty!    We  knew  You  would 
hear  our  prayers!" 

And  no  more  pitiable  sight  was  ever  offered  for 
the  eyes  of  pitying  men  than  that  presented  by  this 
faithful  old  farmer  when  the  black  cloud  passed 
over,  after  having  given  but  a  few  drops  of  rain.  It 
would  be  by  no  means  correct  to  say  that  this  par- 
ticular old  farmer  never  lost  hope.  In  a  short  time 
his  crops  were  blasted,  and  they  finally  ceased  to 
pray  for  rain,  but  it  was  characteristic  of  this  man 
that  he  found  no  fault.  "He  bore  it  calmly,  though 
a  ponderous  woe,  and  still  adored  the  hand  that  gave 
the  blow." 

Later  the  writer  happened  to  meet  that  same  farmer. 
He  had  crops  in  abundance,  and  was  in  every  way 
prosperous.  He  was  reminded:  "It  wasn't  neces- 
sary for  you  to  pray  for  rain  this  year."  He  replied: 
"No,  not  for  rain,  but  to  give  thanks  for  the  strength 
that  carried  me  through  the  trials  of  former  days, 
and  gratitude  for  the  ability  to  appreciate  and  put 
to  proper  use  the  manifold  blessings  now  bestowed 
upon  me." 

In  the  sight  of  our  inventions,  of  our  railroad  build- 
ing, of  our  ocean  enterprises,  of  our  search  for  gold, 
of  our  struggle  for  territory,  of  our  efforts  to  become 
a  world  power,  not  by  example,  but  by  force  of  arms, 
we  have  come  to  imagine  that  man  is  an  all-powerful 
creature. 

He  has  perfected  inventions  for  the  planting  and 
the  harvesting  of  grain,  and  for  the  convenient  disposal 
of  it  after  the  harvest  has  been  made.  In  some  quar- 
ters, and  on  a  comparatively  small  scale,  man  has 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '»         109 


devised  processes  of  irrigation.  But  in  the  presence 
of  a  threatened  disaster  that  involves  the  destruction 
of  the  crops  of  the  country,  men  realize  their  help- 
lessness, and  whatever  their  theologies,  their  creeds, 
or  their  notions  may  have  been,  they  are  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that,  after  all,  we  may  be  necessarily 
dependent  upon  some  pov/er  higher  than  that  of 
man.  In  the  presence  of  a  threatened  disaster  man's 
hope  may  find  voice,  and  yet  in  the  contemplation 
of  his  weakness  in  dealmg  with  the  great  forces  of 
nature,  he  is  forced  to  employ  the  v/ords  of  the  poet: 
"But  what  am  I,  an  infant  crying  in  the  night,  an 
infant  crying  for  the  light,  and  with  no  language  but 
a  cry." 

It  is  nothing  new  that  in  the  time  of  a  great  ca- 
lamity, in  the  presence  of  a  threatened  disaster,  men 
become  more  tolerant  of  the  faith  of  the  mothers. 
The  story  is  as  old  as  the  hills,  and  from  the  beginning 
men,  who  in  prosperity  have  been  inclined  either  to 
indifference  or  to  sneers,  have  in  disaster  come  to 
realize,  though  only  for  a  moment,  that  they  are 
dependent  upon  a  superior  power.  The  old-time 
religion  that  in  the  busy  marts  has  been  swept  aside 
by  those  too  practical  to  give  thought  to  the  future, 
has  in  the  midst  of  trouble  re-impressed  itself  upon 
helpless  men;  and  all  the  theologies,  and  the  creeds, 
and  the  notions  erected  by  so-called  progressive  men 
are  as  mere  baubles  at  such  a  time  in  comparison 
with  the  faith  of  Paul  and  Silas. 

We  may  have  heard  a  man  in  the  vigor  and  fresh- 
ness of  youth  sneer  at  the  faith  of  his  mother,  but 
when  the  oats  have  been  sown,  when  the  mad  race 


110         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >> 

has  been  run,  and  age,  and  decrepitude,  come  upon 
him,  how  often  have  we  seen  that  same  man  demon- 
strate that  he  realizes  the  completeness  of  human 
frailty. 

We  may  have  heard  a  man  sneer  at  the  faith  of  a 
neighbor;  and  yet  how  often  have  we  seen  that  same 
man,  when  death  has  threatened  his  own  household, 
kneeling  beside  the  cot  of  a  beloved  child,  and  min- 
gling his  prayers  with  those  of  a  devoted  mother, 
invoking  for  his  home  that  which  he  is  powerless 
himself  to  give,  pleading  for  relief  from  a  source 
waose  very  existence  he  has  sometimes  questioned. 

In  the  moment  of  peril  human  frailty  turns  in- 
stinctively toward  divine  strength.  The  privilege  of 
the  "sweet  hour  of  prayer"  that  brings  one  "from  a 
v/orld  of  care,"  has  been  the  greatest  boon  to  man- 
kind. It  has  smoothed  the  pillow  of  many  a  dying 
man;  it  has  quickened  the  conscience  of  many  a 
thoughtless  woman;  it  has  given  inspiration  to  many 
a  simple  child,  and  it  has  brought  surcease  of  sorrow 
to  many  a  heart-broken  parent. 

The  mother  praying  for  the  wajrward  son  is  en- 
couraged to  new  efforts  in  behalf  of  her  child;  the 
soldier  praying  for  guidance  on  liberty's  battle  field 
is  inspired  to  more  skillful  struggles;  the  statesman, 
invoking  divine  aid  in  dealing  v/ith  the  problems  of 
government,  is  brought  nearer  to  his  God,  and  hence 
nearer   to   his   conscience. 

In  the  days  of  tribulation  some  give  audible  ex- 
pression to  their  prayers,  others  pray  no  less  earnestly, 
though  silently. 


-^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         111 

"As  down  in  the  sunless  retreats  of  the  ocean 
Sweet  flowers  are  springing  no  mortal  can  see, 

So,  deep  in  my  soul  the  still  prayer  of  devotion, 
Unheard  by  the  world,  rises  silent  to   Thee. 

"As  still  to  the  star  of  its  worship,  though  clouded. 
The  needle  points  faithfully  o'er  the  dim  sea. 

So,  dark  when  I  roam  in  this  wintry  world  shrouded, 
The  hope  of  my  spirit  turns  trembling  to  Thee." 

Who  will  say  that  in  the  presence  of  prosperity  it 
is  not  the  part  of  wisdom  for  men  to  remember  their 
helplessness  by  recalling  the  days  when  the  rain  fell 
not  upon  the  earth?  But  it  does  not  seem  difficult 
to  believe  that  the  man  or  woman  who  finds  relief  in 
cultivating  "sweet  flowers"  that  spring  "deep  in  the 
soul,"  will,  even  in  the  very  shadow  of  disaster,  share 
Browning's  sublim.e  optimism:  "God's  in  His  heaven: 
all's  right  with  the  world!" 


112         *'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


"THE    GREAT  WORLD'S  ALTAR    STAIRS" 

NEW  YORK  clergyman,  in  an  address 
recently  delivered  in  that  city,  said:  "It 
is  a  curious  fact  that  while  this  thing  called 
love  is  recognized  as  beautiful,  it  produces 
so  much  misery.  I've  tried  to  find  out  why  this  is 
true,  and  I  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  it  is 
because  humanity  is  divided  into  two  classes — 
masters  and  slaves.  One  class  must  dominate  the 
other,  and  it  is  the  domination,  the  tyranny  of  love, 
which  has  wrecked  lives  and  blasted  characters." 

It  is  not  the  tyranny  of  love,  but  the  tyranny  of 
the  forces  against  which  love  contends  that  is  respon- 
sible for  the  world's  woes.  Many  have  wondered 
why  pain  has  seemed  to  be  love's  inseparable  com- 
panion; but  those  v/ho  have  reached  the  high  peaks 
of  love  and  have  felt  the  keenest  stings  of  grief,  know 
that  while  "a  mighty  pain  to  love  it  is,  'tis  a  pain  that 
pain  to  miss." 

That  it  seems  to  have  been  ordained  that  those 
who  love  most  must  suffer  the  keenest  griefs,  is  one 
of  the  mysteries.  This  clergyman  is  not  the  only 
man  who  has  been  perplexed  in  the  presence  of  these 
problems. 

We  have  all  tried  to  discover  the  why  of  many 
things. 

Maternity  means  pain,  yet  women  aspire  to  it.  The 
mother  bends  to  the  very  gates  of  death,  and  yet  she 
does  it  willingly  because  it  is  the  fulfillment  of  the 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         113 

law  of  her  being.  But  what  is  all  that  pain  compared 
with  the  exquisite  joy  when  "the  mother  feels  for  the 
first  time  her  first-born's  breath?" 

With  the  world's  experience  before  them  parents 
know  that  children  bring  responsibility  and,  perhaps, 
sorrow.  But  they  long  for  the  responsibility,  and 
spend  their  lives  in  efforts  to  avert  the  sorrow. 

The  lad  knows  that  when  he  goes  "gathering  the 
myrtle  with  Mary,"  love  may  stroll  at  his  side,  and 
that  while  after  love  comes  marriage,  after  mar- 
riage come  burdens,  and  finally  parting  in  death.  But 
was  ever  a  lad  kept  from  a  "Mary's"  side  by  thoughts 
like  these? 

Friendships — pure  and  holy — between  men  and 
between  women,  have  grown  up  in  all  the  history  of 
the  world.  Every  friendship  we  cultivate  means  the 
enlargement  of  our  opportunities  for  grief;  for  when 
we  win  a  friend  we  take  v/ithin  the  holy  circle  of  our 
thoughtful  consideration  all  his  hopes,  his  struggles, 
his  forttmes — things  which  need  not  concern  us  if  we 
avoid  the  temptation  to  cultivate  that  friendship.  But 
who  would  avoid  these  associations,  even  if  by  doing 
so  they  could  blot  out  some  of  the  forces  that,  in  the 
presence  of  a  friend's  woes,  tug  away  at  one's  heart 
strings? 

We  see  a  little  child,  hungry  and  cold,  crying  for 
succor.  Why  is  it  that  tears  come  unbidden  to  our 
eyes,  and  we  hasten  to  give  relief? 

We  see  a  man  struggling  v/ith  adversity.  Why 
does  he  have  our  S5anpathy  and  aid? 

We  see  one  woman  deserted  by  a  faithless  iover, 
another  fighting   against   poverty,  another  standing 


114         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

bravely  beside  a  sick,  or  perhaps,  a  debased  husband. 
Why  does  she  command  our  concern? 

We  see  a  brutal  man  beating  a  helpless  beast,  and 
we  protest.     Why? 

We  see  sorrow  and  woe  on  every  hand.  We  see 
might  grappling  with  right;  the  weak  struggling 
against  the  powerful;  and  individuals  fighting  to 
overcome  some  great  personal  temptation.  No  need 
to  point  out  the  evils,  nor  to  say  that  men's  syra- 
pathies  go — as  truly  as  the  needle  seeks  the  pole — 
to  the  right  side  of  these  contests.     Why? 

These  evils  are  not  the  product  of  love.  They  are 
to  be  conquered  or  minimized  by  the  power  of  love, 
which  Disraeli  described  as  "the  principle  of  existence 
and  its  only  end." 

"Why  is  love?"  asks  this  clergyman.  Well,  why  is 
life?  Why  the  many  unsolved  and  unsolvable  things 
with  which  the  human  being  is  confronted?  And  why 
is  death?  Aye,  let  him  who  would  ask  "Why  is 
love?"  first  explain  the  necessity  for  death;  for  while 
death  seems  to  strike  its  cruelest  blows  at  those  who 
love  the  most,  those  who  love  the  most  are  able  to 
withstand  the  sorrows  death  inflicts  upon  the  living. 

"Love's  arms  were  wreathed  about  the  neck  of  Hope, 
And  Hope  kissed  Love,  and  Love  drew  in  her  breath 
In  that  close  kiss  and  drank  her  whispered  tales. 
They  say  that  Love  would  die  when  Hope  was  gone, 
And  Love  mourned  long,  and  sorrowed  after  Hope; 
At  last  she  sought  out  Memory,  and  they  trod 
The  same  old  paths  where  Love  had  walked  with  Hope, 
And  Memory  fed  the  soul  of  Love  with  tears." 

Every  daily  newspaper  discloses  the  close  compan- 
ionship between  love  and  sorrow.     It  is  shown  that 


**0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom"         115 

the  sins  of  indifferent  or  thoughtless  men  fall  heaviest 
upon  the  innocent  people  who  love  them.  If  a  com- 
posite tale  could  be  written  of  the  life  stories  provided 
in  our  penitentiaries,  the  dramatic  interest  would  not 
attach  to  those  chapters  dealing  directly  with  the 
crime  or  the  criminal,  but  rather  to  the  pages  that 
are  blotted  with  the  tears  and  written  in  the  heart's 
blood  of  those  who  suffer  for  love's  sake. 

"Oh,  Shepherd,  tell  this  youth  what  'tis  to  lovel" 
"It  is  to  be  all  made  of  sighs  and  tears. 
It  is  to  be  all  made  of  faith  and  service." 

Yet  who  would  abandon  the  faith,  who  would 
avoid  the  sighs,  the  service,  and  the  tears  if  to  do  so 
they  must  abandon  love? 

There  are  some  natures  so  sympathetic  that  men 
in  grief  and  trouble  turn  instinctively  to  them;  and 
men  of  such  natures  walk  through  life  arm  in  arm 
with  sorrow— perhaps  none  of  it  their  own  making, 
but  all  of  it  resting  heavily  upon  them.  We  can  not 
tell  why  it  is  that  with  all  of  their  intimate  associa- 
tion with  grief  these  men  would  not  exchange  places 
with  those  who  live  far  apart  from  the  sorrows  of  their 
fellows. 

If  we  would  describe  the  value  of  love  let  us  im- 
agine what  the  world  would  be  if  dispossessed  of  that 
which  has  been  called  "the  sweetest  joy,  the  wildest 
woe."  Look  at  the  man  who  living  "withdrawn  in 
the  place  of  his  self-content,"  never  cultivates  a 
genuine  friendship  for  man,  woman,  or  child.  There 
are  a  few  such  men,  perhaps,  in  every  large  com- 
munity. The  sorrows  of  others  do  not  disturb  them. 
They  are  not  subjects  of  the  so-called  "Tyrant"  Love, 


116         ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ^' 

hence  are  not  required  to  submit  to  the  mysterious 
burdens  that  fall  upon  those  who  dwell  within  Love's 
realm.  They  avoid  many  of  the  shadows  of  life,  but 
do  they  ever  feel  the  touch  of  its  real  sunshine? 

We  can  not  explain  why  it  was  ordained  that  love 
and  sorrow  should  be  such  close  companions  any 
more  than  we  can  explain  many  other  problems  of 
life.  But  we  do  know  that  without  love  life  would 
not  be  worth  living,  and  that  its  attendant  sacrifices 
and  sorrows  soften  the  heart  and  ennoble  the  char- 
acter in  proportion  to   the  depth  of  the  affections. 

We  do  know  that  no  one  who  has  felt  the  touch  of 
"the  divine  passion"  would  retrace  his  steps  even 
though  by  doing  so  he  would  be  permitted  to  forget 
the  bad  as  he  would  be  required  to  forfeit  the  good. 

If  the  stranger  would  learn  of  these  things  let  him 
consult  any  man  who  has  walked  in  the  sunshine  as 
well  as  in  the  shadows  of  love's  domain.  That  man 
would  tell  him  that  looking  through  the  vista  of 
years  he  would  not  forswear  allegiance  to  Love,  the 
great  ruler  of  the  human  heart,  because  the  sunshine 
breaks  through  all  the  shadows,  and  with  all  the  dark 
recollections  the  blessed  memories  are  supreme.  He 
would  tell  him  that  the  rosy  cheeked  girl  from  whom 
he  snatched  a  kiss  under  the  mistletoe  twenty  years 
or  more  ago  is  now  the  matron  of  forty;  that  the  roses 
have  been  transferred  to  the  cheeks  of  her  girls  and 
her  boys,  but  that  she  is  the  same  today  as  she  was 
yesterday,  and  the  same  yesterday  as  when 

"The  golden  hours  on  angel  wings 

Flew  o'er  me  and  my  dearie; 
For  dear  to  me  as  light  and  life 

Was  my  sweet  Highland  Mary." 


*'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '>         117 

Since  then  many  shadows  have  fallen  on  that  home. 
At  that  hearthside  there  may  be  vacant  chairs;  in  the 
family  archives  there  may  be  documents  wet  with 
tears.  The  inmates  of  that  home  know  what  it  is 
to  suffer;  but  they  know,  also,  what  it  is  to  love;  and 
they  who  know  of  these  things  can  not  be  convinced 
that  Love  is  a  tyrant. 

Those  who  have  suffered,  yet  have  been  strength- 
ened by  the  very  force  which  made  their  sorrow  keen, 
can  tell  this  New  York  clergyman  that  love,  rather 
than  being  a  tyrant  that  revels  in  misery,  is  a  relent- 
less foe  to  tyranny,  and  a  faithful  minister  in  afflic- 
tion. Those  who,  at  love's  bidding,  have  passed 
under  the  rod,  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that 
that  which  this  clerg)rman  likens  to  a  tyrant  is  better 
described  as:  "The  great  world's  altar  stairs,  that 
slope  through  darkness  up  to  God." 


118         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom 


)) 


THE  FREEMASONRY  OF  SENTIMENT 

WAS  a  man  of  ardent  affections  and  bitter 
prejudices.  He  was  quick  to  judge  harshly 
but  equally  quick  to  revise  his  opinion.  He 
was  sojourning  in  a  western  city.  He  vis- 
ited a  church  whose  creed  was  not  his,  and  whose 
preacher,  from  the  first,  stirred  his  prejudices.  He 
seemed  determined  not  to  be  satisfied  with  anything 
this  preacher  did,  and  when  the  sermon  had  been 
delivered  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  it  was  one  of  the 
poorest  to  which  he  had  ever  listened.  But  a  change 
came  over  the  spirit  of  his  dreams;  and  a  little  child 
was  the  central  figure  in  the  scene  which  made  this 
man  conclude  that,  after  all,  he  had  listened  to  one 
of  the  grandest  sermons  that  had  ever  been  preached, 
and  had  participated  in  one  of  the  sweetest  services 
that  had  ever  been  rendered. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon  the  preacher  said: 

"You  will  all  remember  how  one  bleak  morn- 
ing last  winter  we  carried  from  this  church  all 
that  was  mortal  of  a  woman  who  was  loved  be- 
cause her  whole  life  showed  that  she  knew  she 
was  serving  God  best  when  she  rendered  service 
to  God's  needy  creatures.  The  poor  and  the  sick 
of  this  neighborhood  outside  of  the  membership 
of  this  church  have  missed  her  every  day  since 
her  death,  but  today  we  are  to  have  a  reminder 
of  her  noble  life.  Most  of  us  remember  that  ten 
days  prior  to  her  death,  a  little  child  was  bom 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''        119 

unto  her,  and  although  she  was  well  prepared  to 
die,  she  was  more  than  ever  anxious  to  live  be- 
cause of  her  longing  for  a  little  one  upon  whom 
she  could  lavish  some  of  the  boundless  affection 
she  had  given  freely  to  the  needy.  Today  that 
little  child  is  to  be  baptized,  and  I  call  j'our  at- 
tention to  these  facts  by  way  of  tribute  to  its 
mother's  precious  memory,  and  in  the  hope  that 
her  fine  example  will  be  ever  before  us." 

It  was  not  difl&cult  to  se  that  the  stranger  in  that 
church  was,  as  the  boys  \  ould  say,  "sitting  up  and 
taking  notice"  just  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings. 
And  he  was  one  of  the  most  deeply  interested  spec- 
tators as  the  aunt  of  the  motherless  child  carried  the 
little  one  to  the  altar.  Holding  the  child  in  his  arms 
the  preacher  went  through  the  baptismal  service;  and 
then  before  handing  it  back  to  the  aunt  he  held  it  at 
arms'  length  and  took  a  long,  earnest  and,  we  may 
say,  a  loving  look  into  its  happy  face.  Then  pressing 
the  Uttle  one  to  his  breast  he  kissed  it  passionately 
while  the  tears  coursing  down  his  furrowed  cheeks 
gave  to  the  motherless  child  another  baptism — not 
the  baptism  provided  in  the  service  books — but  the 
outpouring  of  love  and  sympathy  which,  after  all,  is 
the  substance  of  the  form  provided   in   our   creeds. 

By  this  time  the  tears  were  rolling  down  the 
stranger's  cheeks.  The  hostility  within  his  heart  for 
that  old  preacher  was  entirely  gone.  The  love,  the 
sympathy,  the  tenderness  which  he  had  failed  to 
detect  in  the  sermon  of  the  day  he  had  observed  in 
the  kisses  which  the  preacher  gave  to  the  motherless 
child,  and  in  the  tears  which  rained  upon  the  baby*8 


120         ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

face.  He  knew  that  that  preacher  was  his  "kind  of 
people."  He  had  recognized  the  freemasonry  of 
sentiment.  He  saw  clearly  the  tie  that  binds  men  of 
deep  feeling,  and  he  felt  as  though  he  would  be  glad 
to  grasp  that  preacher's  hand.  Certainly  he  was  a 
better  man  because  hostility  had  been  banished  from 
his  heart;  and  perhaps,  after  all,  he  was  a  stronger 
man  because  of  the  necessity  for  the  readjustment 
of  his  opinion. 

Several  years  ago  a  newspaper  man  wrote  a  simple 
little  article  that  had  small  literary  merit  but  de- 
pended for  public  approval  solely  upon  its  tender 
sentiments.  A  man  who  was  generally  believed  to 
be  hard-hearted  wrote  to  this  newspaper  man  a  per- 
sonal letter,  thanking  him  for  the  article  referred  to, 
and  saying:  "I  have  frequently  found  this  kind  of 
sentiment  cherished  where  one  would  least  expect 
it  to  be,  and  I  am  frank  enough  to  say  that  I  am 
surprised  in  this  instance."  The  newspaper  man  was 
just  as  much  surprised  to  learn  that  his  article  had 
met  favor  at  the  hands  of  his  correspondent. 

We  don't  know  all  that  is  going  on  in  the  hearts  of 
our  neighbors.  Of  course  the  cynic  would  say  that 
if  we  did  we  would  more  regularly  lock  up  our  hen- 
roosts at  night.  But  everyone  knows  some  man 
upon  whom  he  has  passed  erroneous  judgment. 
Everyone  knows  some  man  whom  he  at  one  time 
regarded  as  cruel  and  heartless,  but  later  found  to 
be  tender  and  true.  While  some  of  our  greatest 
writers  would  give  us  the  impression  that  most  men 
are  bad,  if  we  will  but  examine  our  own  experiences 
with  the  majority  of  our  acquaintances,  we  will  dis- 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         121 

cover  that  these  writers,  famous  though  they  are, 
merely  skimmed  the  surface  in  the  "proper  study  of 
mankind." 

Some  of  us  prefer  the  opinion  of  that  writer  who 
said  "he  only  fears  men  who  does  not  knov/  them, 
and  he  who  avoids  them  will  soon  misjudge  them." 
Too  often  we  mistake  thoughtlessness  for  meanness. 
Some  have  pointed  to  the  eagerness  with  which  men 
will  push  one  another  in  order  to  secure  a  seat  on  a 
crowded  street  car  or  train,  or  to  purchase  a  ticket 
at  a  crowded  box  office.  They  forget  the  many 
instances  where  men  have  calmly  submitted  to  death 
in  order  that  the  lives  of  women  and  children  might 
be  saved.  They  forget  the  great  heroism,  the  patient 
labor,  and  the  tender  sympathy  shown  at  every  rail- 
road wreck  where  men  in  large  numbers  have  gath- 
ered. They  forget  the  prompt  response  made  in  the 
average  American  neighborhood  in  cases  of  sickness 
and  distress.  They  forget  the  many  little  and  yet 
important  services  rendered  by  one  man  when  it 
comes  to  burying  another  man's  dead.  They  forget 
that  every  appeal  made  upon  the  sympathies  of  men 
for  help  for  the  afflicted  has  been  promptly  and  fully 
responded  to,  whether  the  call  came  to  the  men  of  a 
nation,  to  the  men  of  a  state,  to  the  men  of  a  coimty, 
or  to  the  men  of  a  small  community.  They  forget 
the  hospitals  that  have  been  erected  and  maintained 
— not  in  most  cases  by  the  liberal  contributions  of 
rich  men,  but  by  the  small  and  regular  donations  of 
poor  men.  They  forget  the  Houses  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  and  similar  institutions  whose  doors  are 
ever  open  to  fallen  women.     They  forget  the  ready 


122         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

giving  of  alms  that  may  be  counted  on  in  any  street 
in  any  city  of  the  land,  where  the  beggar's  necessity 
is  apparent.  They  forget  the  support  given  and  the 
respect  shown  for  the  Volunteers,  the  Salvation  Army 
and  kindred  organizations — support  given  in  most 
cases  by  those  who  make  no  profession  of  religion. 
They  forget  the  constant,  steady  tendency  toward 
good  manifested  in  our  public  sentiment,  if  not  at  all 
times  in  our  laws — a  public  sentiment  constantly 
striving  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  society,  con- 
stantly striving  to  overcome  the  evils  incident  to 
society. 

The  cynics  would  have  us  accept  the  methods  of 
the  insurance  rings ters  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  dispo- 
sition of  men;  but  they  forget  that  whenever  such 
crimes  as  these  have  been  exposed,  the  condemnation 
by  public  opinion  has  been  overwhelming.  They 
forget  that  it  is  the  very  goodness  of  men  which,  slow 
to  see  evil  in  others,  has,  in  part,  made  it  possible 
for  a  cotc^rie  of  men  to  impose  on  their  fellows.  The 
cynics  would  have  us  believe  that  the  instances  of 
corruption  in  pubUc  life  fairly  reflect  the  character 
of  men  generally.  They  forget  that,  while  the  people 
are  sometimes  slow  in  learning  the  truth,  when  faithful 
prosecuting  attorneys  have  uncovered  wrongdoing, 
and  honest  governors  have  set  themselves  squarely 
against  the  encroachments  of  powerful  interests, 
men  of  all  poUtical  parties  and  all  creeds,  and  men  of 
no  political  party  and  no  creed,  have  rushed  to  the 
support  of  good  government. 

Man's  struggle  for  light  does  not  terminate  with 
the  deUvery  of  his  college  diploma.     With  most  of 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '*         123 

us  it  is  a  constant  and  a  desperate  struggle;  not  only 
a  struggle  for  existence,  but  a  struggle  against  pas- 
sions, a  struggle  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time. 

A  show  made  its  appearance  in  a  frontier  town. 
There  was  no  orchestra,  but  an  old  organ  was  secured, 
and  finally  one  thoughtful  and  observing  citizen  who 
had  learned  to  play  the  organ,  was  persuaded  to  act 
as  "the  orchestra."  The  rough  frontiersmen  gathered 
in  large  numbers,  most  of  them  with  great  pistols 
buckled  to  their  waists,  and  when  the  "orchestra 
man"  took  his  place  at  the  organ  it  was  noticed  that 
he  had  taken  the  precaution  to  pin  upon  his  back  a 
large  placard  bearing  the  words:  "Don't  shoot  the 
organist.  He's  doing  the  best  he  knows  how."  Some 
of  us  yet  believe  that  most  of  us  are  doing  the  best 
we  "know  how."  One  great  trouble  is  that  "men's 
evil  manners  live  in  brass;  their  virtues  we  write  in 
water."  K  men  would  get  closer  to  one  another 
there  would  be  less  cynicism  in  the  world,  and,  all 
important,  less  cynicism  in  the  world's  literature. 

"One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin," 
or  rather  reminds  us  that  we  are  all  kin,  just  as 
brothers  long  time  estranged  have  later  been  recon- 
ciled at  the  knee  of  the  mother  or  at  the  mother's 
grave,  or  perhaps  by  some  touching  reminder  that 
they  are  brothers,  and  that  sympathy,  kindness,  and 
the  forgiving  spirit  are  part  and  parcel  in  their  duty. 

Some  of  these  eminently  practical  men  are  wont  to 
laugh  at  their  fellows  T^vho  deal  in  that  sentiment 
which  Lowell  describes  as  "intellectualized  emotion, 
emotion  precipitated,  as  it  were,  in  pretty  crystals  by 


124         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

the  fancy."  But  these  "pretty  crystals"  never  hurt 
any  one.  There  are  a  few  men  who  have  habitually 
repressed  this  "intellectualized  emotion,"  and  some 
in  whom  it  was  never  developed.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll, 
riding  on  a  train  one  evening,  noticed  the  beautiful 
sunset,  and  touching  his  seat  neighbor  on  the  arm, 
pointed  across  the  field,  saying:  "Isn't  that  simply 
beautiful?"  His  neighbor  looked  out  of  the  car 
window  but  his  vision  reached  no  farther  than  a 
herd  of  cattle,  and  he  replied:  "Sure  it  is.  Them's  the 
finest  bunch  of  steers  I  have  seen  in  many  a 
day." 

It  doesn't  do  to  judge  men  harshly.  We  ought 
to  get  through  the  world  without  naving  enemies,  but 
if  we  must  have  them  for  a  time,  it  would  be  well  if 
we  could  know  them  better  when  we  might  discover 
that  that  fine  old  lover  of  men  knew  what  he  was 
talking  about  when  he  said:  "If  we  could  read  the 
secret  lives  of  our  enemies  we  would  find  there 
enough  sorrow  and  suffering  to  make  us  love  them." 

In  some  of  the  simplest  of  verses  we  find  the  greatest 
of  morals.  In  a  book  compiled  for  the  children  there 
is  a  verse  that  was  doubtless  written  for  the  grown 
folks:  "Do  you  wish  for  kindness?  Be  kind.  Do 
you  wish  for  truth?  Be  true.  What  you  give  of 
yourself,  you  find;  your  world  is  a  reflex  of  you." 
And  long  ago,  a  man,  pleading  for  the  kindlier  im- 
pulse, gave  to  the  world  a  valuable  reminder  when 
in  homely  verse  he  wrote:  "You  dare  not  chain  the 
lion;  you  must  not  chain  the  dove;  and  every  gate 
you  bar  to  hate  will  open  wide  to  love," 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''        125 


"GREATER  LOVE  HATH  NO  MAN" 

[HERE  was  one  satisfactory  feature  to  the 
two  long  drawn  out  murder  trials  in  which 
a  Florodora  chorus  girl  figured.  That  was 
the  devotion  displayed  by  the  distracted 
father  toward  his  wayward  daughter.  When,  during 
her  first  trial,  the  defendant  stepped  from  the  witness 
stand  after  having  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  a 
relentless  cross-examination,  the  old  man  put  his 
arm  affectionately  around  his  child,  and  said:  "You 
did  splendidly,  Uttle  girl."  When  the  jury  returned 
with  the  report  that  it  could  not  agree,  the  news- 
paper dispatches  say: 

"The  father  of  the  accused,  who  has  been  by 
her  side  ever  since  the  trial  began,  and  whose 
tender  care  and  devotion  to  her  has  been  the 
most  touching  of  the  trial,  tried  to  comfort  her, 
but  his  saddened  face  and  mournful  expression 
robbed  the  words  he  uttered  of  force  and  mean- 
ing as  he  said:  'Don't  worry,  little  girl;  it  will 
come  out  all  right  yet.'" 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  true  test  of  love  is  the 
willingness  to  endure  and  suffer  for  another;  that 
it  is  the  suffering  element  that  measures  love,  and  that 
characters  that  are  great  must  of  necessity  be  char- 
acters that  shall  be  v/illing,  patient,  and  strong  to 
endure  for  others;  that  "to  hold  our  nature  in  the 
willing  service  of  another  is  the  divine  idea  of  man- 


126         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

hood."  Unquestionably  the  average  parent  would 
successfully  meet  the  test,  even  as  it  was  met  by  the 
father  of  this  wayward  girl.  Children  seldom  appre- 
ciate the  parents'  love.  Doubtless  the  Florodora 
girl  has  learned  to  appreciate  it,  just  as  many  other 
wayward  girls  have  learned  it  in  the  past,  just  as 
many  other  girls  will  learn  it  in  the  future. 

No  human  pen  can  accurately  describe  that  love. 
It  is  wonderfully  elastic,  and  as  child  after  child  is 
born  into  the  family,  covers  them  all  giving  the 
same  portion  to  the  new-born,  while  lessening  none 
of  that  enjoyed  by  the  others.  The  good  mother 
who,  when  asked  which  of  her  children  she  loved  the 
best,  said:  "The  one  who  is  sick,"  pointed  out  in 
a  happy  way  the  only  difference  a  parent  can  feel  in 
his  attitude  toward  his  children.  We  love  best 
"the  one  who  is  sick;"  we  love  best  the  one  who  is 
crippled  in  body;  we  love  best  the  one  who  has  some 
weakness,  for  which  he  is  not  entirely  responsible; 
we  love  best  the  one  who  has  fallen,  even  though  he 
fell  as  the  Florodora  girl  fell;  even  though  the  doors 
of  society  be  closed  against  him,  even  though  all  but 
the  hope  of  heaven  has  been  denied  him. 

"Don't  worry,  little  girl;  it  will  all  come  out  right, 
yet,"  said  the  defendant's  father;  and  with  all  of 
her  faults  she  was  his  "little  girl"  then,  she  is  his 
"little  girl"  now,  and  she  v/ill  be  his  "little  girl"  until 
the  end.  The  faithful  father  best  remembers  his 
daughter  as  she  was  when  indeed  a  little  girl.  Al- 
though she  has  grown  into  womanhood  there  is 
always  in  the  father's  mind  a  portrait  of  the  little 
girl  in  frocks;  there  is  always  a  picture  of  the  little 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         127 

innocent  playing — or  praying — at  the  mother's  knee. 
That  little  girl  may  have  met  the  world  and  been 
conquered  by  the  world;  her  friends  one  by  one  may 
have  turned  from  her;  she  may  have  fallen  even  as 
the  defendant  fell;  but  at  the  critical  moment  the 
majesty  of  parental  love  asserts  itself;  "the  divine 
idea  of  manhood"  is  manifested.  At  the  critical 
moment  the  love  of  the  parent  for  the  child  is  su- 
preme, and  arm  in  arm  the  devoted  father  and  the 
wayward  daughter  face  a  frowning  world,  and  walk 
together  through  the  dark  valley,  the  one  loving  as 
he  always  loved,  the  other  appreciative  of  that  majes- 
tic affection,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  her  life. 

All  the  world  loves  a  lover;  it  smiles  at  the  sweet- 
hearts gathered  at  the  trysting  place;  it  nods  approval 
when  the  husband  and  wife  grow  day  by  day  into  a 
fonder  and  holier  imion;  it  admires  the  manly  devo- 
tion of  brother  to  sister;  it  respects  the  affection  of 
friend  for  friend;  it  is  inspired  by  the  love-light  in 
the  mother's  eyes  when  she  bends  over  the  cradle  of 
her  babe.  It  must  stand  uncovered  in  the  presence 
of  that  parental  love  exemplified  in  the  chorus  girl 
case;  for  that  is  the  true  reflection  of  the  love  shown 
by  the  Savior  of  men — that  is  the  spirit  which  hov- 
ered over  the  manger  at  Bethlehem,  made  Gethsemane 
endurable,  and  Calvary  possible.  "Greater  love 
than  this  hath  no  man." 

Painters  have  sought  to  paint  love  upon  canvas; 
poets  have  tried  to  picture  it  in  verse;  dramatists 
have  endeavored  to  describe  it  in  play.  But  it  is 
not  a  thing  to  be  shown  in  picture  or  in  v/ords.  It 
was  manifested  in  all  its  majesty  when  the  Nazareue 


128        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

cried:  "It  is  finished!"  and  since  then  it  has  been 
shown  in  the  palaces  of  the  rich  and  in  the  hovels  of 
the  poor  whenever  a  good  parent's  love  for  his  child 
has  been  put  to  the  test. 

In  the  "Reign  of  Law,"  James  Lane  Allen,  the 
novelist,  leads  his  hero  through  a  maze  of  doubt  and 
tmbeUef,  and  finally  lands  him  safely  on  faith's  foim- 
dation  stones,  winning  him  to  that  point  through  the 
hero's  love  for  a  woman.  So  divine  was  his  affection 
for  the  girl  of  his  choice,  that  he  concluded  that, 
after  all,  there  must  be  a  God,  else  there  could  not 
be  such  love.  Perhaps  the  novelist  knew  what  he 
was  doing;  and  yet  there  are  many  who  read  that 
magnificent  story  who  felt  that  he  missed  an  oppor- 
tunity when  he  failed  to  use  the  parents'  love  for  the 
child  as  the  highest  and  best  representative  of  God's 
love  for  man,  and  as  undeniable  evidence  of  the  ex- 
istence of  "our  Father  which  art  in  heaven." 

It  is  a  pity  that  this  old  man's  "little  girl"  fell;  it 
is  a  pity  that  the  hearts  of  her  parents  were  broken; 
it  is  a  pity  that  the  happiness  of  a  good  wife  was 
wrecked  by  the  folly  of  a  man  who  sinned,  and  the 
weakness  of  a  girl  who  yielded;  it  is  a  pity  that  the 
public  must  be  afflicted  with  the  details  of  such  a 
case.  Bur  it  would  be  worth  all  the  tears  and  all  the 
grief,  and  all  the  toil  and  trouble,  if  the  plain  moral 
presented  throughout  this  affair  could  be  written 
indelibly  upon  the  heart  of  every  other  man's  "little 
girl"  in  all  this  wide,  wide  world. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         129 


THE  OLD  CHUMS-LIVING  AND  DEAD 

|S  WE  grow  older  we  grow  weaker  physically 
and  mentally,  but  our  friendships  grow 
stronger.  "Friendship  is  the  shadow  of  the 
evening  which  strengthens  with  the  setting 
sun  of  life."  The  Indians  understood  at  once  what 
William  Penn  meant  when,  in  addressing  them,  he 
said:  "The  friendship  between  me  and  you  I  will 
not  compare  to  a  chain;  for  that  the  rains  might  rust, 
or  the  falling  tree  might  break." 

If  the  comparatively  yoimg  man  of  today  would 
obtain  some  conception  of  the  way  old  friendships 
lay  hold  upon  the  aged,  let  him  when  nearing  the 
meridian  of  life  move  from  the  place  where  the 
greater  number  of  his  years  have  been  spent.  When 
a  man  gets  along  in  years  he  finds  it  more  difficult 
to  make  new  acquaintances.  The  difficulty  is  largely 
within  himself,  of  course;  he  feels  such  a  reverence 
for  the  time-honored  friendships  that  he  is  reluctant 
to  admit  strangers  to  the  sacred  precincts  inhabited 
by  them.  He  begins,  long  before  his  time,  to  live  in 
the  past.  He  appreciates,  as  others  may  not,  the 
reverence  gray-haired  men  have  for  the  old-time  ties 
and  the  pleasures  they  find  in  reviving  the  tender 
memories  of  the  long  ago  by  pilgrimages,  as  it  were, 
through  the  King dom-of- Never- Forget.  He  better 
understands  the  words  of  the  gray-haired  poet  written 
for  the  benefit  of  his  gray-haired  classmates; 


130        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

Fast  as  the  rolling  seasons  bring 

The  hour  of  fate  to  those  we  love, 
Each  pearl  that  leaves  the  broken  string 

Is  set   in   Friendship's  crown   above. 
As  narrower  grows   the  earthly  chain, 

The  circle  widens  in  the  sky; 
These  are  our  treasures  that  remain. 

But  those  our  stars  that  beam  on  high. 

There  are  many  men  and  women — even  some  who 
do  not  regard  themselves  as  aged — who  take,  occa- 
sionally, a  journey  into  the  King dom-of- Never- Forget. 
"Oft  in  the  stilly  night,  ere  slumber's  chain  has  bound 
me,  fond  memory  brings  the  light  of  other  days 
around  me;  the  smiles,  the  tears,  of  boyhood's  years, 
the  words  of  love  then  spoken;  the  eyes  that  shone, 
now  dimmed  and  gone,  the  cheerful  hearts  now 
broken."  And  sometimes,  then,  we  "feel  like  one 
who  treads  alone  some  banquet  hall  deserted,  whose 
lights  are  fled,  whose  garlands  dead,  and  all  but  he 
departed." 

These  pilgrimages  into  the  Kingdom-of- Never- For- 
get remind  us  that  every  friendship  cultivated  in  life 
yet  holds  a  niche  in  our  hearts.  Some  of  the  parties 
to  those  friendships  may  be  dead;  a  few  may  have 
proved  unworthy;  miles  of  land  and  leagues  of  sea 
may  separate  us  from  others;  from  many  we  may  not 
have  heard  for  years;  but  the  tender  memory  is  there 
and  needs  but  to  be  revived  by  the  "light  of  other 
days,"  in  which  we  traverse  the  Kingdom-of- Never- 
Forget. 

How  these  familiar  figures  come  trooping  in  review* 
marshalled  to  very  life  by  a  wave  of  memory's  baton. 
There  is  the  Uttle  girl  in  pinafores  with  whom  we 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''  131 

made  our  first  mud  pies;  here  is  the  rosy  cheeked  lad 
with  whom  we  took  our  first  swim;  then  the  sallow- 
faced  youth  with  whom  we  had  our  first  fight  (we  can 
feel  his  swift  punches  even  now);  and  then  the  first 
teacher  to  win  us  by  her  tender  devotion  to  her  pupils; 
the  first  sweetheart  of  our  boyhood  days,  perhaps 
now  the  mother  of  stalwart  sons  of  her  own,  but 
always  to  hold  a  place  of  honor  in  our  hearts,  and, 
although  now  a  matron,  always  to  be  remembered 
as  the  brown  haired  girl  arrayed  in  calico  and  sun- 
bonnet,  and  one  whose  beauty  was  adorned  the  most 
because  it  was  adorned  the  least;  the  woman  who  was 
the  first  to  teach  us  of  the  laws  of  God;  the  man  who 
was  the  first  to  tell  us  of  the  governments  of  men, 
and  at  whose  knee  we  first  learned  the  principles  of 
Democracy.  Then  there  is  "Tom,"  sensitive  as  a 
girl,  but  in  his  friendships  faithful  unto  death;  and 
"Jim,"  rough  on  the  exterior,  but  polished  like  a 
diamond  within.  We  all  have  our  "Jims"  and 
"Toms."  Perhaps  the  one  is  dead  and  the  other  far 
away,  but  the  mysterious  forces  of  friendship  keep 
the  living  and  the  dead  ever  at  our  side,  for  those 
who  taught  us  of  love  and  loyalty  to  one's  friends  are 
immortal  in  our  hearts. 

What  an  army  of  boys  and  girls,  and  men  and 
women — friends  of  the  long  ago — come,  even  without 
beck  or  call,  once  fond  memory  brings  the  light  of 
other  days  aroimd  us. 

It  is  with  smiles,  as  well  as  sighs  and  tears,  that 
we  conclude  our  pilgrimage  through  the  Kingdom- 
of- Never- Forget;  and  when  we  emerge  from  the 
shadows  and  the  sunbeams  of  that  domain  we  feel 


132        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

like  writing  upon  its  outer  walls  this  sign  of  loyalty 
and  of  love  to  the  old  chums  living  and  the  old  chums 
dead: 

"From  the  wreck  of  the  past,  which  hath  perished, 
Thus  much  I  at  least  may  recall, 
It  hath  taught  me  that  what  I  most  cherished 

Deserved  to  be  dearest  of  all; 
In  the   desert  a  fountain  is  springing; 

In  the  wide  waste  there  still  is  a  tree, 
And  a  bird  in  the  solitude  singing. 

Which  speaks  to  my  spirit  of  thee." 


<<  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »»    133 


THE  BLIND  MAN'S  PRAYER 

5 OUR  men  of  varying  ages  were  rambling 
together  in  Nebraska  fields.  Among  the 
birds  and  flowers,  the  growing  grain,  and 
the  life-full  trees  men  are  apt  to  grow  com- 
municative. Creation's  wonders  are  never  so  inter- 
esting and  so  productive  of  thought  as  in  the  spring- 
time, and  thought  concerning  the  mysteries  of  fields 
leads,  very  often  and  very  naturally,  to  thought  con- 
cerning the  mysteries  of  men. 

While  the  members  of  this  little  party  were  resting 
imder  the  shade  of  a  tree,  the  younger  one,  although 
free  from  serious  want  or  perplexing  care,  registered 
complaint  against  his  lot  in  life,  and  protested  very 
bitterly  because  of  the  burdens  he  was  required  to 
bear.  One  of  his  companions,  a  gray-haired  man 
whom  we  may  well  describe  as  the  philosopher  of  the 
party,  and  whose  career  had  been  marked  by  struggles 
and  tribulations  such  as  the  young  complainer  had 
never  known,  advised  his  companion  to  look  about 
him  and,  observing  the  sorrows  of  others,  understand 
how  much  reason,  after  all,  he  had  for  congratulating 
himself. 

These  men  halted  at  a  farmhouse  for  the  noonday 
meal.  Summoned  to  the  dining  room,  they  found 
already  seated  at  the  table  a  gray-haired  man,  with 
form  bowed  and  bent  with  the  weight  of  years,  and 


134         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

with  remarkably  large  eyes  from  which  the  sight  had 
long  since  departed. 

The  mistress  of  the  home  called  upon  the  aged  man 
to  pray,  and  the  listeners  heard: 

We  thank  Thee  for  Thy  abundant  love  and 
mercy;  for  the  privilege  Thou  hast  given  us  to 
labor  in  Thy  vineyard  where  there  is  so  much 
work  to  be  done  in  Thy  name,  and  for  the  good 
of  Thy  creatures.  Accept  our  grateful  acknowl- 
edgement because  of  the  pain  and  grief  we  have 
been  spared,  and  our  glad  thanks  for  the  manifold 
blessings  that  have  been  showered  upon  us.  Make 
us  strong  to  bear  whatever  in  our  human  view 
may  seem  to  be  undue  affliction,  and  bring  us 
to  a  full  appreciation  of  the  opportunities  and 
happiness  ever  at  our  hand.  Comfort  with 
Thy  great  power  and  Thy  enduring  love  those 
who  are  less  fortunate  than  we,  and  help  us,  one 
and  all,  to  educate  ourselves  for  the  higher  and 
better  life  that  has  been  prepared  for  us. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  the  philosopher  of 
the  party  cast  at  the  young  complainer  a  look,  the 
significance  of  which  was  evidently  grasped  in  that 
quarter.  When  the  visitors  left  the  farm  house  the 
philosopher,  addressing  his  young  friend,  asked: 
"Compared  with  your  own  condition,  could  you  see 
in  the  condition  of  that  much  afflicted  old  man  any 
reason  why  he  should  give  thanks  for  the  'manifold 
blessings'   showered   upon  him?" 

"I  was  never  so  much  impressed  with  a  prayer  as 
I  was  with  that  blind  man's  acknowledgment,"  said 
the  young  man;  "and  I  beUeve  that,  after  all,  I  have 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         135 

many  reasons  to  be  thankful.  If  a  sightless  and 
decrepit  man  can  be  grateful  for  his  privileges,  I 
can,  at  least,  find  balm  in  Gilead." 

"Every  furrow  in  that  old  man's  career,"  said  the 
philosopher,  "is  sown  with  the  seed  of  thankfulness, 
and  every  one  of  his  more  fortunate  fellows  in  the 
world  might  well  be  grateful  for  the  opportunity  of 
looking  upon  his  affliction  and  listening  to  his  psalm 
of  praise." 

The  yoimg  com  plainer  had  learned  his  lesson  at 
the  knee  of  the  sightless  man.  It  was  a  lesson  sim- 
ilar to  that  which,  in  the  long  ago,  had  been  taught 
to  one  who  said:  "I  once  complained  because  my 
feet  were  bare,  and  I  had  no  money  to  buy  shoes; 
but  I  met  a  man  without  feet,  and  became  content." 

Some  one  has  written:  "If  we  fasten  our  attention 
on  what  we  have,  rather  than  on  what  we  lack,  a 
very  little  wealth  is  sufficient."  Put  in  another  way: 
If  we  fasten  our  attention  on  the  sorrows,  the  trials, 
and  the  calamities  we  have  escaped,  we  need  find 
no  great  difficulty  in  being  grateful  for  our  privileges 
and  contented  with  our  lot. 

A  few  years  ago  the  sight  of  a  black  cloud  did  not 
strike  terror  to  the  hearts  of  men,  but  in  this  day 
the  coming  storm  is  closely  watched  and  brave  men 
and  courageous  women  are  not  ashamed,  at  the  first 
gust  of  wind,  to  seek  safety  in  the  cellar.  As  the 
young  complainer  learned  his  lesson  in  the  presence 
of  a  sorely  afflicted  yet  wholly  grateful  man,  so 
throughout  the  world  today  commimities  may  find 
cause  for  congratulation. 


136        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '^ 

We  read  of  calamities  falling  all  about  us;  we  are 
told  of  these  terrible  affairs  in  which  the  lives  of 
innocent  men,  women,  and  children  are  blotted  out; 
we  hear  of  terror-stricken  human  beings,  some  driven 
to  the  asylum,  and  others  to  the  very  verge  of  in- 
sanity; we  learn  that  property,  the  accumulation  of 
years  of  toil  and  privation,  is  in  a  moment  swept 
into  nothingness;  that  towns  built  through  a  vast 
expenditure  of  public  spirit  and  individual  struggle, 
have  been  destroyed;  that  prosperity  and  plenty  have, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  been  replaced  by  privation 
and  penury;  that  death  and  disease  stalk  triumphantly 
in  places  where,  but  a  moment  before,  all  was  life 
and  health.  In  the  presence  of  these  awful  facts  no 
man  need  be  so  rigidly  practical,  no  man  should  be 
so  devoted  to  the  chase  for  the  dollar,  as  to  be  ashamed 
to  pause  and  make  grateful  acknowledgment,  either 
to  God  or  to  his  own  destiny,  for  "the  manifold  bless- 
ings" that  are  showered  even  upon  the  humblest 
member  of  a  community  that  lies  not  within  the 
pathway  of  the  storm,  and  comes  not  within  the 
courses  of  the  flood. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  '»         137 


THE  CUP  OF  COLD  WATER 

lEVERAL  years  ago  New  York  newspapers 
told  of  a  young  man  who,  after  years  of 
faithful  service  to  his  employers,  absconded 
with  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  That 
was  the  young  man's  first  misstep,  and  the  employer 
caused  to  be  inserted  in  the  newspapers  an  adver- 
tisement calling  upon  the  young  man  to  return,  and 
promising  that  he  would  not  be  prosecuted,  but  would 
be  helped  out  of  his  difficulties.  The  yoimg  man 
read  the  advertisement,  returned  to  his  home,  made 
a  clean  breast  of  his  error,  was  forgiven  by  the  man 
whom  he  had  wronged,  reinstated  in  his  position,  and 
given  every  possible  encouragement  to  recover  his 
lost  ground.  It  developed  that  the  young  man  was 
in  financial  distress,  and  in  a  moment  of  desperation 
had  used  his  employer's  money.  This  incident  oc- 
curred many  years  ago,  and  since  then  this  young 
man  has,  at  least  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  employer, 
justified  the  magnanimity  which  that  employer 
showed. 

It  will  not  do,  of  course,  for  it  to  become  a  matter 
of  general  understanding  that  a  man  may  embezzle 
and  be  forgiven;  yet  there  have  been,  unquestionably, 
many  cases  in  which  the  methods  used  by  this  New 
York  employer  could  have  been  used  with  advantage 
by  other  employers. 

The  doctrine,  "I  am  not  my  brother's  keeper,"  is 
not  the  doctrine  for  thoughtful  men.     The  man  who 


138        ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

persistently  cultivates  the  notion  that  he  is  con- 
cerned solely  in  his  own  welfare,  and  that  he  owes 
no  duty  to  his  fellows,  has  not  even  begun  to  learn 
that  life  is  worth  living. 

On  a  tablet  in  a  church  in  a  western  city  is  engraved, 
to  the  memory  of  a  fine  Methodist  preacher,  the  best 
and  highest  tribute  that  could  be  paid  to  a  human 
being.  It  is  said  of  this  man:  "He  was  a  helper  of 
men."  Incidentally  it  may  be  said  that  those  who 
happen  to  have  had  the  pleasure  of  this  Methodist 
preacher's  acquaintance  well  know  that  the  tribute 
is  entirely  deserved,  and  that  the  man  to  whose 
memory  that  tribute  is  paid  proved  himself  a  helper 
of  men  whenever  he  came  in  contact  with  a  human 
being  who  needed  aid. 

It  is  true  that  half  the  world  does  not  know  how 
the  other  half  lives.  A  very  large  number  of  people 
are  free  from  serious  trouble,  and  many  of  these  are 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  burdens  borne  frequently  by 
their  own  immediate  neighbors.  It  is,  indeed,  strange 
that  so  much  of  the  trouble,  the  sorrow,  and  the  grief 
that  exists  in  this  busy  world  is  concealed  from  the 
view  of  many  men.  But  the  man  who  is  willing  to 
lend  a  sympathetic  ear  and  extend  a  helping  hand 
very  soon  comes  in  touch  with  his  troubled  fellows 
and  very  soon  learns  of  the  sorrow  and  grief  con- 
cerning which  less  sympathetic  men  remain  in  igno- 
rance. While  it  is  not  an  easy  task  to  comply  with 
the  injunction,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,"  the 
man  who  does  his  best  to  obey  that  rule,  obtains  from 
life  a  great  deal  more  than  the  one  who  utterly  ig- 
nores that  rule.     "The  drying  up  of  a  single  tear  has 


<*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "        139 

more  of  honest  fame  than  shedding  seas  of  gore;"  and 
the  world  is  full  of  tears;  some  of  them  are  coursing 
down  furrowed  cheeks;  some  of  them  fill  eyes  that  are 
rapidly  growing  dim;  many  of  them  are  unshed  and 
invisible.  But  if  every  tear  may  not  be  dried,  if  every 
wounded  heart  may  not  be  healed,  a  word  of  sym- 
pathy and  kindness  will  do  much  to  assuage  the  grief 
which  finds  expression  in  the  tear  and  the  sob. 

Kindness,  like  mercy,  "is  twice  blest;  it  blesseth 
him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes,"  and  is,  indeed, 
"an  attribute  of  God  himself."  The  One  whose  every 
act  showed  love,  and  sympathy,  and  kindness  for 
men  said:  "And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  imto 
these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the  name 
of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  to  you  he  shall  in  no  wise 
lose  his  reward."  There  is  in  this  world  today  an 
opportunity  for  every  human  being  to  give  the  cup 
of  cold  water;  and  there  is  no  waiting  for  the  reward 
to  be  bestowed.  The  moment  the  cup  is  extended, 
that  moment  the  reward  is  obtained. 

A  man  bowed  with  grief  because  of  the  death  of 
his  beloved  wife  is  given  the  warm  hand-clasp  that 
needs  no  words  to  explain  what  it  means.  That's 
the  cup  of  cold  water. 

A  woman,  broken-hearted,  yet,  woman-like,  strong 
even  in  the  presence  of  the  greatest  sorrow,  is  the 
beneficiary  of  those  little  neighborly  services  which, 
while  they  have  no  voice,  speak  volumes  in  sympathy 
and  love.     That's  the  cup  of  cold  water. 

A  merchant,  staggering  imder  adverse  conditions, 
honest,  although  unfortunate,  and  striving  to  save 
the  remnants  of  his  business,  is  given  a  little  extra 


140        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

patronage  by  appreciative  customers,  and  a  little 
unusual  encouragement  by  merciful  creditors.  That's 
the  cup  of  cold  water. 

A  man,  struggling  against  the  power  of  an  over- 
whelming appetite,  and  sinking  sometimes  even  to 
the  gutter,  is  urged  to  try  again  and  save  himself 
from  social  oblivion.      That's  the  cup  of  cold  water. 

The  sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  devoting  their 
lives  to  the  rescue  of  fallen  women.  That's  the  cup 
of  cold  water. 

The  good  sisters  and  the  faithful  nurses  at  the 
hospitals — all  devoting  their  energies  toward  allevi- 
ating pain— none  of  them  with  proper  recompense 
in  the  way  of  money,  many  of  them  without  any 
financial  recompense  whatever.  That's  the  cup  of 
cold  water. 

The  noble  work  done  at  the  orphan  homes  in  caring 
for  the  little  ones  who,  but  for  that  work,  would  be 
homeless.     That's   the   cup   of   cold   water. 

The  man  who,  thrown  from  a  position  through  no 
fault  of  his  own,  finds  assistance  in  obtaining  means 
of  a  Uvelihood  through  the  intercession  of  some  busy 
yet  sympathetic  neighbor.  That's  the  cup  of  cold 
water. 

The  little  garments  that  ar«  sent  to  cover  the 
nakedness  of  some  child  of  the  poor.  That's  the  cup 
of  cold  water. 

The  contribution  to  the  empty  larder  of  the  des- 
titute, the  supply  of  medicine  to  the  poor  and  sick. 
That's    the   cup   of   cold   water. 

The  visits  to  the  sick  and  injured.  That's  the  cup 
of  cold  water. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         141 

The  words  of  cheer  to  the  stupid  or  thoughtless 
lad  who  finds  the  greatest  problem  of  life  to  be  the 
mastery  of  his  simple  studies.  That's  the  cup  of 
cold  water. 

The  mending  of  the  broken  toy  provides  comfort  to 
the  Httle  lad,  and  the  repairing  of  the  tattered  doll 
checks  the  sobs  of  the  little  girl;  and  that's  the  cup 
of  cold  water. 

In  this  day  some  of  us  may  be  too  proud  to  remem- 
ber, and  certainly  many  of  us  are  too  dignified  to 
repeat,  that  little  jingle  so  familiar  to  our  childhood 
days:  "Little  drops  of  water,  little  grains  of  sand, 
make  the  mighty  ocean  and  the  pleasant  land;  little 
deeds  of  kindness,  little  words  of  love,  help  to  make 
earth  happy  Uke  the  heaven  above."  Yet,  would 
not  the  world  be  considerably  better  if  that  simple 
little  verse  were  placed  over  every  desk  in  every 
counting  room  in  the  land,  so  that  he  who  runs  may 
read,  and  he  who  reads  may  profit  for  himself  and 
give  profit  to  his  fellows? 

Some  one  has  said:  "The  best  portion  of  a  good 
man's  life  is  the  "little,  nameless,  unremembered  acts 
of  kindness  and  of  love."  Every  tear  that  falls  in 
sympathy  with  another's  woe,  every  hand-clasp  that 
is  meant  to  assuage  another's  grief,  every  word  that 
is  given  to  provide  encouragement  to  one  who  stum- 
bles and  falters  on  the  way,  every  smile,  and  every 
cheer,  and  every  sigh,  and  every  tear  that  is  the 
product  of  our  loving  kindness  contributes  to  the 
progress  of  the  world,  to  the  advantage  of  humanity 
and  to  the  upbuilding  of  our  own  precious  selves. 

A  man  will  obtain  the  best  in  life  when  he  strives 
for  that  condition  where  thoughtlessness  gives  way  to 


142         '<  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom 


»» 


though tfulness,  where  love  for  one's  self  is  well  bal- 
anced with  love  for  one's  fellows,  where  men  are  not 
too  dignified  to  mingle  their  tears  with  the  tears  of 
a  grief-stricken  neighbor,  where  the  word  of  comfort 
is  ever  ready  for  the  benefit  of  "these  little  ones," 
for  the  relief  of  the  despairing,  and  the  help  of  the 
disconsolate. 

The  cup  of  cold  water  is  always  a  good  investment 
— the  other  things  don't  pay.  It  doesn't  pay  to  harbor 
malice;  it  doesn't  pay  to  make  wounds  so  deep  as  to 
leave  a  scar  upon  the  heart.  One  of  the  prettiest 
thoughts  was  stated  recently  by  a  writer,  whose  name 
is  not  just  now  recalled,  to  the  effect  that  the  kind- 
ness and  good  cheer  generally  prevalent  during  the 
Christmas  season  represents  the  normal  condition  of 
society  when  it  shall  reach  that  perfection  possible 
among  human  beings.  It  is  not  likely  that  many 
of  us  will  live  to  see  the  day  when  that  will  become 
the  normal  condition;  but  that  condition  may  be 
approximated  if  every  man  will  do  his  part  in  putting 
away  malice,  and  in  the  cultivation  within  his  own 
breast  of  those  finer  sentiments  which,  while  they 
uplift  the  man  himself,  tend,  also,  to  the  uplifting  of 
the  world. 


*'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         143 


THE  HIGHER  TESTS  OF  MANHOOD 

iHE  philosopher  who  asked,  "Take  away  am- 
bition and  vanity,  and  where  will  be  your 
heroes  and  patriots?"  might  have  learned 
something  to  his  advantage  had  he  lived  to 
read  from  the  pen  of  the  good  Quaker  poet: 

"Dream  not  that  helm  and  harness  are  signs  of  valor  true; 
Peace  hath  higher  tests  of  manhood  than  battle  ever  knew." 

For  every  ounce  of  evil  in  this  busy  old  world  there 
are  several  pounds  of  good.  For  every  act  of  mean- 
ness there  are  several  deeds  of  love. 

In  this  day  when  the  world  hears  so  much  to  the 
discredit  of  men,  it  will  doit  no  harm  to  be  reminded 
that  "the  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them;  the  good 
is  oft  interred  with  their  bones."  It  will  do  men 
and  women  no  harm  to  have  their  attention  dis- 
tracted from  the  dark  pictures  of  cruelty,  of  passion, 
and  of  man's  inhumanity  to  man  to  the  brighter 
view  where  sacrifices  are  made,  where  burdens  are 
borne,  where  mighty  obstacles  are  overcome — in 
many  instances  by  frail  men  and  delicate  women — 
and  all  done  in  the  name  of  that  love  that  "passeth 
all  understanding." 

Charles  Reade  described  the  experiences  of  the 
thoughtful  observer  when  he  said:  "Not  a  day 
passes  over  the  earth  but  men  and  women  of  no  note 
do  great  deeds,  speak  great  words,  and  suffer  noble 
sorrows.  Of  these  obscure  heroes,  philosophers,  and 
martyrs,  the  greater  part  will  never  be  known  till 


144         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

that  hour  when  many  that  were  great  shall  be  small 
and   the  small  great." 

One  need  not  go  beyond  the  borders  of  his  own 
town  to  find  those  who,  keepmg  "the  noiseless  tenor 
of  their  way,"  and  unknown  even  to  many  of  their 
neighbors,  meet  the  higher  tests  of  manhood.  Point- 
ing out  that  "heroes  in  history  seem  to  us  poetic 
because  they  are  there,"  one  writer  has  reminded  us 
that  "if  we  should  tell  the  simple  truth  of  some  of 
our  neighbors  it  would  sound  like  poetry." 

Regular  patrons  of  a  certain  street-car  line  in  a 
western  city,  frequently  observed  a  mother  grown 
prematurely  gray  by  her  burdens,  carry  on  and  off 
the  cars,  to  and  from  a  doctor's  office,  a  girl,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  had  been 
stricken  with  paralysis.  For  years  this  mother  hoped 
against  hope,  and  trying  first  one  experiment  and  then 
another  was,  after  years  of  painstaking  devotion, 
finally  rewarded  by  her  daughter's  restoration  to 
health.  Those  who  remembered  how  that  good 
mother  carried  in  her  arms  the  daughter,  then  grown 
to  womanhood,  even  as  she  had  carried  her  when  a 
babe,  must  have  felt  their  hearts  beat  a  little  faster 
when  they  were  permitted  to  see  that  mother  and 
daughter  walking  side  by  side,  the  one  restored  to 
health,  and  the  other  happier  and  prouder  because  of 
the  sorrows  she  had  endured  and  the  sacrifices  she 
had  made. 

A  man  in  a  clerical  position  met  with  a  terrible 
accident.  A  large  family  was  dependent  upon  him 
for  support.  A  fellow-employe,  who  was  himself 
dependent   upon   wages,   and   who   had    passed   his 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '*        145 

sixty-fifth  year,  joined  with  other  employes  of  the 
office  in  an  agreement  to  do  the  work  of  their  fellow 
in  order  that  those  dependent  upon  him  might  obtain 
his  salary.  Every  night  in  that  office  some  men  were 
engaged  in  working  over- time,  and  several  nights 
during  the  week  this  aged  man  was  contributing  his 
portion  in  this  labor  of  love.  He  over-worked  him- 
self, and  brought  on  an  apoplectic  stroke.  For  sev- 
eral weeks  he  lingered  between  life  and  death,  but,  to 
the  gratification  of  all  who  have  the  honor  of  his 
acquaintance,  he  was  restored  to  health.  Who  will 
say  that  on  the  roll  of  heroes  the  name  of  this  man 
does  not  occupy  a  conspicuous  place? 

A  yoimg  physician  was  called  to  attend  a  woman, 
who  was  at  that  time  perhaps  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Although  the  disease  with  which  this  girl  was  stricken 
had  been  pronounced  incurable  by  other  and  older 
doctors,  the  young  physician  devoted  himself  to  the 
case.  So  attentive  was  he  to  his  patient,  that  he 
secured  one  of  the  rooms  in  her  mother's  house  as 
his  office  that  he  might  be  conveniently  situated  to 
respond  day  or  night  to  calls  from  the  invalid.  On 
pleasant  days  he  carried  the  delicate  woman  to  his 
phaeton  for  a  drive.  Before  the  second  year  had 
passed  he  knew  that  his  fair  patient  loved  him.  He 
kept  his  own  love  for  another  locked  within  his  big 
heart.  For  fourteen  years  the  patient  lingered,  and 
finally  passed  away.  Within  a  year  the  doctor  had 
married  the  woman  of  his  choice,  who,  evidently  im- 
derstanding  the  heroism  of  the  man,  had  never 
married,  although  it  was  currently  reported  she  had 
many  opportunities.     Intimate  friends  of  those  con- 


146         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

cemed  in  this  romance  know  the  facts  as  related. 
The  doctor  and  his  wife  are  still  living,  and  they  keep 
refreshed  the  memory  of  the  poor  invalid  as  well  as 
the  grass  and  flowers  about  her  grave. 

There  are  everywhere  girls  of  tender  years  engaged 
in  laborious  tasks,  and  using  their  all  too  small  in- 
come for  the  purposes,  in  some  cases,  of  lifting  mort- 
gages, in  others  of  providing  bread  for  the  family. 
There  are  boys,  pushed  before  their  time  to  the  line 
of  manhood's  duties,  who  have  taken  the  places  of 
fathers  dead,  have  become  protectors  for  their  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  and  providers  for  their  widowed 
mothers.  There  are  parents  struggling  to  conceal, 
and  finally  to  cure,  the  waywardness  of  a  son  or 
daughter.  There  are  wives  bearing  in  silence  the 
grief  that  husband's  shame  has  brought  upon  them, 
and  concealing,  for  their  children's  sake,  the  hid- 
eous skeleton  in  their  homes.  There  are  husbands 
who,  to  spare  their  offspring  woe,  steel  their  hearts 
against  the  first  impulse  of  manhood  to  destroy,  and 
close  their  eyes  to  the  recklessness  of  wives.  There 
are  children  bravely  holding  up  their  heads  among 
their  fellows,  although  a  parent  has  brought  disgrace 
upon  the  household.  There  are  men  and  woman 
striving  to  recover  lost  ground,  battling  with  their 
own  bad  natures,  and  with  every  struggle,  and  with 
every  triumph  impressed — as  those  who  may  not 
know  what  it  is  to  struggle  with  one's  self  can  never 
be — with  the  fact  that  "he  who  ruleth  his  spirit  is 
greater  than  he  who  taketh  a  city." 

The  generous  love  and  the  tender  sympathy,  the 
enormous  sacrifice,  and   the  mighty  endeavor   that 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "        147 

abound  in  this  world  today,  need  to  be  brought  to 
the  attention  of  those  who,  seeing  so  much  of  the 
meanness  of  men,  may  be  moving  dangerously  near 
to  the  line  of  C3micism. 

Bad  people  are  the  exception.  It  is  natural  that 
men  and  women  be  good  and  do  good.  Love  and 
sympathy  are  part  of  the  divine  plan.  "That  very 
law  which  molds  a  tear  and  bids  it  trickle  from  its 
source — that  law  preserves  the  earth  a  sphere,  and 
gmdes  the  planets  in  their  course." 


148         ''Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


REVIVAL  OF  THE  OLD 

|N  RECENT  years  an  effort  has  been  made 
by  the  leaders  of  society  to  establish  the 
colorless  and  scentless  flowers  of  unpro- 
nounceable names  in  leadership  of  the  floral 
world.  By  the  decree  of  the  "400,"  these  unattract- 
ive flowers  were  to  serve  as  substitutes  for  the  "bleed- 
ing heart,"  the  "honeysuckle,"  the  "daisy,"  the 
"pansy,"  the  sweet  "violet,"  and  the  various  other 
things  of  beauty  and  joys  forever  in  the  flower-bed — 
flowers  whose  names  even  a  child  may  pronounce,  and 
whose  beauty  even  the  unlettered  may  appreciate. 

But  somehow  or  another  the  old  favorites  of  the 
floral  kingdom  retain  their  standing,  and,  somehow 
or  other,  men  are  not  drawn — even  by  the  decree  of 
society — to  the  worship  of  flov/ers  that  take  but  do 
not  give.  Somehow  or  other  the  ordinary  man  is 
even  yet  attracted  by  a  form  and  beauty  and  fra- 
grance which  one  may  enjoy  and  understand  without 
first  obtaining  a  diploma  from  a  college  of  botany. 

This  would,  indeed,  be  "a  merry  world,  my  mas- 
ters," if  the  men  and  women  of  today  resolutely 
turned  their  backs  upon  some  of  the  "new  things"  in 
life,  and  took  up  with  some  of  the  things  that  lived 
and  flourished  in  the  times  of  the  fathers  and  mothers. 
It  would  be  well  for  the  world  if  we  could  have  "a 
revival  of  the  old"  all  along  the  line. 

Let  us  search  the  attics,  where  our  old  books  have 
been  stored,  and  produce  for  the  benefit  of  the  chil- 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  *'         149 

dren  better  and  more  entertaining  tales  than  have 
ever  been  written  by  tbe  boasted  novelists  of  the 
present  day.  There  is  no  occasion  for  one  to  go  into 
ecstacy  over  such  books  as  "To  Have  and  to  Hold," 
or  "Alice  of  Old  Vincennes,"  while  the  stories  of 
James  Fennimore  Cooper,  much  more  realistic,  much 
more  probable,  much  more  interesting,  remain  hidden 
in  our  attics,  covered  with  the  dust  of  years,  and 
unperused  by  the  people  of  today.  Edward  Eggle- 
ston's  "Hoosier  Schoolmaster"  is  a  better  story  than 
many  of  the  latter  day  novelists  have  written.  Louise 
M.  Alcott's  "Little  Men"  and  "Little  Women"  have 
never  yet  been  excelled  as  interesting  and  instructive 
reading  for  the  young  and  old.  The  boys  of  today 
who  search  for  light  and  lively  fiction  know  little  or 
nothing  of  Colonel  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson, 
the  great  Massachusetts  writer  of  boy  stories,  who 
wrote  tales  that  will  Uve. 

Books  and  books  and  books  are  written  today, 
and  yet  they  are  not  nearly  so  satisfactory  as  some  of 
the  few  volumes  that  were  published  in  the  long  ago. 

We  are  all  too  apt  to  worship  at  some  new  shrine, 
and  all  too  apt  to  forget  the  merit  of  the  old  in  our 
anxiety  to  pay  undue  tribute  to  the  new. 

We  go  into  ecstacy  over  some  of  the  recent  day 
songs,  and  yet  forget  the  many  very  interesting 
things  that  have  been  presented  by  the  bards  of  the 
past. 

"Ben  Bolt,"  one  of  the  sweetest  of  all  the  verses 
ever  penned  by  man,  would  be  practically  unknown 
today  but  for  the  fact  that  it  was  set  to  music  and 
that  it  figured  in  a  popular  novel.    Its  high  character 


150        ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

as  a  touching  piece  of  poetry  is  not  fully  appreciated 
by  the  men  of  today.  Abraham  Lincoln,  perhaps, 
could  not  make  a  rhyme,  but  there  was  poetry  as 
well  as  music  in  his  soul,  and  he  knew  what  genuine 
poetry  was  when  he  selected  "Oh,  Why  Should  the 
Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud?"  as  his  favorite  poem. 
The  member  of  the  literary  society  who  would  sub- 
scribe to  the  statement  that  "Oh,  Why  Should  the 
Spirit  of  Mortal  be  Proud?"  is  entitled  to  high  rank 
in  Uterature,  would  be  immediately  written  down  as 
undeserving  of  a  place  in  polite  society,  but  Abraham 
Lincoln's  favorite  poem  will  bear  re-reading,  where 
some  of  the  productions  of  the  present  day  would  be 
cast  aside  after  a  mere  glance. 

It  would  be  well,  too,  if  the  disposition  toward  "a 
revival  of  the  old"  could  take  a  firm  hold  upon  our 
church  choirs.  Sunday  after  Sunday  great  congre- 
gations composed  of  men  and  women  anxiously  seek- 
ing not  for  profoimd  things,  but  for  those  things  that 
strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  htmian  heart,  assemble 
throughout  this  country  to  listen  to  airs  they  can  not 
appreciate,  straining  their  ears  for  words  made  imin- 
telligible  by  the  necessity  of  obtaining  what  we  be- 
lieve the  choirmaster  calls  the  "range  of  voice." 
"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  the  sweetest  song  that 
was  ever  written,  set  to  the  sweetest  music  that  was 
ever  sung,  is  not  heard,  and  can  not  be  heard  in  the 
average  church.  The  old-fashioned  books  are  full  of 
better  songs,  of  more  exquisite  music,  than  are  pro- 
duced by  the  average  church  choir. 

While  we  are  obtaining  more  of  the  old  flowers,  of 
the  old  books,  of  the  old  poems,  of  the  old  songs,  let 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         151 

us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  women,  who,  like 
our  mothers,  lived  and  loved,  and  loved  and  lived, 
not  conspicuous  for  ability  as  club  lecturers,  or  as 
impossible  reformers,  but  notable  as  though tfxil  and 
devoted  mothers,  as  earnest  and  faithful  wives,  as 
uncrowned  queens  of  perfect  homes. 

Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  girl,  who 
was  taught  that  no  woman  was  so  well-to-do  that  she 
should  not  be  educated  in  the  arts  of  the  good  house- 
wife. Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  girl 
whose  beauty  was  adorned  the  most  because  it  was 
adorned  the  least;  who  knew  more  about  healthy 
outdoor  exercise  and  practical  indoor  household  du- 
ties than  she  did  of  pink  teas. 

Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  men  who 
believed  in  the  brotherhood  of  man;  whose  lives  were 
not  devoted  to  the  game  of  grab;  who  practiced  the 
same  religion  during  the  six  days  in  the  week  that 
they  heard  preached  on  the  seventh;  who  stood  up 
for  truth  and  right  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  right, 
and  who  never  sacrificed  principle  for  the  sake  of 
expediency. 

Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  boy,  who 
had  never  learned  to  inhale  cigarette  smoke  into  his 
lungs;  who  honored  his  father  and  his  mother,  spent 
his  evenings  at  home,  his  Sundays  at  church,  and  who 
devoted  his  recreation  hours  to  sports  that  improve 
the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  physical  in  man. 

Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  husbands 
who  made  of  their  wives  real  companions,  who  hon- 
ored them,  loved  them,  cared  for  them  and  pro- 


152        "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


tec  ted  them  as  queens  of  the  home  and  the  trainers 
of  future  citizens. 

Let  us  have  more  of  the  old-fashioned  love;  the 
old-fashioned  love  that  made  children  a  blessing  to 
their  parents;  the  old-fashioned  love  between  friends; 
the  old-fashioned,  pure  and  lasting  love  demonstrated 
in  the  friendships  of  those  who  sang: 

"There  is  change  in  the  things  I  loved,  Ben  Bolt, 

They  have  changed  from  the  old  to  the  new; 
But  I  feel  in  the  deeps  of  my  spirit  the  truth. 

There  never  was  change  in  you. 
Twelve  months  twenty  have  passed,    Ben  Bolt, 

Since  first  we  were  friends;  yet  I  hail 
Your  presence  a  blessing,  your  friendship  a  truth, 

Ben  Bolt  of  the  salt  sea  galel" 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '»         153 


"SCATTERED  AT  THE  FEET  OF  MAN" 

[ID  YOU  ever  pass  an  hour  in  conversation 
with  a  botanist  without  realizing  your  woe- 
ful ignorance  of  the  "sweetest  things  that 
God  ever  made  and  forgot  to  put  a  soul 
into?"  Did  you  ever  listen  to  the  instructions  of  an 
astronomer  without  being  impressed  with  the  great 
realities  that  are  moving  about  you  and  shining 
above  you,  wondering  all  the  time  that  you  had  neg- 
lected these  opportunities?  Did  you  ever  listen  to 
the  orations  of  the  sage  whose  philosophy  inspires 
him  in  prosperity  and  supports  him  in  adversity 
without  realizing  that  at  least  some  portion  of  your 
life  had  been  wasted?  Did  you  ever  stand  in  the 
presence  of  a  man  who,  reared  in  poverty,  had  over- 
come all  obstacles  and  climbed  high  into  the  tree  of 
knowledge,  learning  so  many  things  worthy  of  being 
known,  and  remembering  everything  he  had  learned, 
without  feeling  your  own  ignorance  and  your  folly  in 
failing  to  grasp  what  seemed  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  man  handicapped  as  you  had  never  been? 

The  non-observing  man  sleeps  upon  his  opportu- 
nities. Even  the  eminently  practical  may  learn 
much  to  their  advantage  if  they  be  not  ashamed  to 
give  attention  to  the  little  things  and  to  show  some 
concern  for  the  lessons  that  may  be  learned  even 
in  seemingly  insignificant  affairs.  There  are  all  too 
many  of  us  who  are  like  the  man  of  whom  it  was  said: 
"A  primrose  by  the  river's  brim  a  yellow  primrose  was 


154         <^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »» 


to  him,  and  it  was  nothing  more."  But  as  the  as- 
tronomer could  pomt  out  truth  and  beauty  in  the 
skies,  as  the  philosopher  could  direct  attention  to 
beauty  and  truth  in  philosophy,  so  the  botanist  could 
show  truth  and  beauty,  and  beauty  and  truth,  in  the 
yellow  primrose  by  the  river's  brim. 

In  every  fact  of  creation,  in  every  incident  of  life> 
in  every  love  and  in  every  passion,  in  every  duty  and 
in  every  sacrifice  there  is  a  lesson  to  be  learned;  and 
it  will  do  the  busy  man  no  harm  if  he  becomes  more 
observing  of  the  things  that  are  not  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  stocks  and  bonds,  with  purchase  and  with 
sale. 

Recently  in  the  city  of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  happened 
an  incident  that  ought  to  be  carefully  considered  by 
every  human  being.  It  had  the  elements  of  tragedy 
and  there  was  in  it  a  bit  of  comedy,  too.  It  was 
fraught  with  lessons  of  love  and  of  life,  lessons  which 
might  give  courage  to  the  hopeless,  lessons  which 
might  inspire  the  prosperous. 

A  man  brought  to  the  depths  of  despair  through 
his  own  folly,  feeling  that  his  career  of  usefulness  was 
at  an  end,  went  to  the  river's  bank  determined  to  end 
it  all.  Those  who  thought  they  knew  this  hopeless 
creature  might  have  been  pardoned  for  concluding 
that  it  would  have  been  just  as  well  had  the  man 
been  permitted  to  carry  out  his  purpose.  But  some- 
thing happened  which  saved  this  being  from  a  sui- 
cide's grave.  We  are  told  that  just  as  this  man  was 
about  to  plunge  into  the  current  of  the  Missouri  some 
one  threw  a  httle  dog  from  the  bridge.  Instantly  the 
better  nature  of  the  would-be  suicide  was  aroused. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         155 


His  desire  to  destroy  his  own  life  was  forgotten  in  his 
consideration  for  the  little  animal  struggling  in  the 
waves.  Instead  of  plunging  into  the  water  bent  upon 
taking  the  life  which  it  was  his  duty  to  preserve  and 
use  for  the  benefit  of  the  world — he  plunged  into  the 
stream  and  rescued  the  little  dog. 

Newspaper  reports  say  that  "with  the  wet,  shiv- 
ering dog  nestling  in  his  arms,"  the  wet,  shivering  man 
applied  for  shelter  at  the  police  station.  He  refused 
to  part  company  with  his  little  protege  and  the 
newspaper  reports  state,  "when  he  went  to  sleep  on 
the  bench  in  the  hallway  at  the  police  station  the 
little  black  dog  was  curled  up  on  his  breast." 

The  sufferings  of  the  helpless  dimib  animal  instantly 
appeal  to  the  hearts  of  men.  On  the  occasion  of 
President  Roosevelt's  visit  to  a  western  city,  a  pow- 
erful dog  jumped  upon  a  smaller  dog  and  was  getting 
the  better  of  him  when  a  half  a  dozen  stalwart  men 
rushed  from  the  crowd,  and  taking  the  part  of  the 
smaller  animal,  beat  off  his  assailant.  It  is  well  that 
men  show  such  sympathy  for  the  beast.  But  is  it 
not  strange  that  they  do  not  show  more  sympathy  for 
the  man  who,  in  some  cases,  through  his  own  folly,  in 
other  cases  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  is  made  to 
feel  that  he  has  reached  the  end  of  his  period  of  use- 
fulness, that  the  world  has  turned  against  him,  and 
that  self-inflicted  death  must  be  his  portion? 

It  requires  no  great  effort  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  an  intimate  friend,  temporarily  suffering  under 
adversity,  but  real  heroism  is  displayed  when,  without 
hope  of  recompense,  and  merely  "in  His  name,"  we 
reach  out  into  the  darkness  and  the  gloom  enshroud- 


156         ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

ing  a  human  being  who  has  lost  all  heart  and  believes 
himself  to  be  beyond  all  help,  and  do  our  part  in  the 
effort  to  rescue  the  perishing.  Many  men  wiU  be 
surprised  to  learn  how  far  even  a  kind  word  or  the 
warm  pressure  of  a  hand  will  go  toward  changing,  or 
perhaps  preserving,  the  life  of  a  fellow-creature. 

Important  as  the  lesson  involved  in  the  incident 
referred  to  may  be  to  the  more  prosperous  man,  the 
greater  lesson  is  to  the  man  who  has  lost  hope.  Words 
can  not  describe  the  condition  of  "the  man  who  has 
lost  hope."  That  condition  can  be  understood  by 
one  whose  Ufe  has  not  been  broken  upon  the  wheel 
of  adversity  only  when  he  imagines  what  his  own 
career  would  be  if  hope  were  entirely  removed  from 
it.  One  might  imagine  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  revive  hope  within  the  breast  of  the  would-be 
suicide;  but  the  fact  that  there  was  so  much  good  in 
him  that  he  forgot  his  own  sorrows  in  the  sympathy 
he  had  for  a  dumb  creature,  provides  conclusive  proof 
that  even  to  that  most  hopeless  man  life  is  worth 
Uving.  The  man  who,  under  those  circumstances, 
could  display  such  love  and  tenderness,  is  capable, 
with  a  Uttle  encouragement,  of  conquering  himself 
and  proving  to  the  world  that  he  is  better  because  he 
lived.  He  is  but  the  representative  of  a  type,  and 
every  one  of  his  class  is  entitled  to  the  tender  sympa- 
thy and  the  substantial  encouragement  of  his  more 
fortunate  fellows. 

The  finest  tribute  that  could  be  paid  to  any  man 
— and  we  must  not  forget  that  it  may,  in  truth,  be 
paid  to  many  men — was  given  by  Robert  G.  Ingersoll 
at  his  brother's  grave  when  he  said:    "If  every  one 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  *'        157 

to  whom  he  did  some  loving  service  were  to  lay  a 
blossom  on  his  grave  he  would  sleep  tonight  be- 
neath a  wilderness  of  flowers." 

There  are  so  many  heartaches  and  so  many  tears, 
so  much  grief  and  so  much  sorrow,  so  many  heavy 
crosses  to  be  borne  by  disheartened  men  and  frail 
women,  that  it  ought  to  be  the  pleasure,  as  it  is  the 
duty,  of  their  stronger  fellows  to  lend  a  hand. 

Every  tear  that  falls  in  response  to  another's  woe, 
every  hand-clasp  meant  to  give  reassurance  to  a  fal- 
tering comrade,  every  word  of  encouragement  uttered 
in  the  presence  of  a  despairing  creature,  every  sacrifice 
made  by  the  prosperous  for  the  unfortunate,  provides 
healthy  seed  for  fertile  soil.  It  is,  at  once,  a  prayer 
and  a  benediction;  a  help  to  others  and  a  help  to  one's 
self.  It  blesses  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes; 
and  generous  heart  and  grateful  soul  need  give  no 
audible  utterance  to  the  prayer  which,  although  un- 
spoken, beats  about  the  great  white  throne,  and  there 
interprets  itself  in  the  very  language  of  Tiny  Tim: 
"God  Bless  us,  every  one!" 

If  the  busy  man  v/ould  but  give  some  thought  to 
the  things  going  on  about  him  in  every  hour  of  the 
day,  he  would  learn  that  "the  primal  duties  shine 
aloft  Uke  stars,"  and  "the  charities  that  soothe  and 
heal  and  bless  are  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  like 
flowers." 


158        '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kmgdom  " 


"NO  FRO  WOCKS" 

N  THE  play  "Resurrection,"  a  most  inter- 
esting scene  is  that  in  the  jury  room.  It 
will  be  remembered  by  those  who  have  wit- 
nessed that  striking  play  that  a  woman  was 
on  trial  for  her  life,  and  many  of  the  jurors  expressed 
very  strong  sentiments  for  and  against  the  defendant. 
Every  one  of  these  jurors  was  "cocksure"  he  was 
right,  whether  he  favored  acquittal  or  conviction.  A 
gray-haired  and  gray-bearded  juror,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  very  hard  of  hearing,  was  finally  persuaded  to 
express  his  opinion.  Turning  first  to  the  jurors  on 
his  right,  then  to  the  jurors  on  his  left,  and  finally  to 
the  jurors  in  front  of  him,  he  reiterated  with  great  de- 
liberation: "WE  —  ARE  —  NONE  —  OF  —  US  — 
SAINTS  !" 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  every  man  has  done 
things  of  which  he  is  heartily  ashamed.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  in  the  life  of  every  man  there  are 
several  chapters  which  he  would  not  desire  to  have 
revealed  to  public  gaze. 

"We  are  none  of  us  saints,"  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  man  whose  disposition  is  to  hasten  to  the 
rock  pile  has  the  most  need  of  the  injimction:  "Let 
him  that  is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone." 

When  with  reference  to  one  who  has  displeased  us 
we  are  tempted  to  say  harsh  things,  we  should  look 
over  our  own  record  and  see  whether  we  have  been  as 
circumspect  as  we  should  have  been.  We  should  stop 
to  consider  that  perhaps  our  enemy  has  had  pressing 
upon  him  such  a  force  of  disadvantageous  circum- 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         159 

stances  that  he  could  not  always  do  as  we  would  wish 
him  to  do,  or  as,  perhaps,  he  would  have  preferred  to 
do. 

When  we  are  tempted  to  say  that  our  enemy  has 
been  immoral,  should  we  not  at  least  look  over  our 
own  record  and  determine  whether  we  have  always 
lived  up  to  the  moral  law? 

In  imder taking  to  enumerate  the  shortcomings  of 
our  enemy,  should  we  not  be  a  bit  careful  lest  we 
charge  him  with  the  very  sins  of  which  we  ourselves 
have  been  guilty? 

"We  are  none  of  us  saints;"  and  every  one  of  us 
has  so  many  shortcomings,  some  of  one  kind  and 
some  of  another,  that  even  though  the  milk  of  human 
kindness  does  not  run  so  regularly  as  to  prompt  us  to 
avoid  inflicting  needless  wounds  and  creating  imnec- 
essary  scars,  consideration  of  the  law  of  self-preser- 
vation should  tie  our  tongue  and  temper  our  bitter- 
ness. 

A  very  little  boy  had  learned  to  describe  in  his  own 
way  some  of  the  scenes  as  presented  in  the  large 
pictures  in  the  old  family  bible.  He  imdertook  to 
tell  to  a  visitor  the  story  of  the  fallen  woman,  and  he 
told  that  story  somewhat  in  this  fashion: 

"Dere's  de  dear,  good  Lord,  and  dere's  de  poor, 
wicked  woman.  Dere's  de  mean  men.  De  mean  men 
dey  say:  *Fro  wocks  at  her!  Fro  wocks  at  her!'  And 
de  dear  good  Lord  he  say:  *No  fro  wocks  at  her!  No 
fro  wocks  at  her!'  " 

The  little  lad's  description  was  not  entirely  accu- 
rate so  far  as  concerns  language,  but  the  spirit  was 
there;  and  when  we  are  tempted  to  pass  harsh  judg- 
ment upon  our  unfortunate  fellows,  would  we  not  do 
weU  to  remember  the  admonition:    "No  fro  wocks?" 


160         *'  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '» 


"THE  BRAVEST  ARE  THE  TENDEREST  " 

15^*^?^  E  SOMETIMES  find  courtesy,  courage  and 
IvvSvi^  real  strength  lacking  where  we  would  have 
^'-■^^-"^  the  right  to  expect  it,  and  we  often  find 
these  traits  where  we  would  least  suspect 
their  existence. 

"Shepherd,  I  take  thy  word, 
And  trust  thy  honest  offer'd  courtesy, 
Which  oft  is  sooner  found  in  lowly  sheds 
With  smoky  rafters,  than  in  tap'stry  halls. 
And  courts  of  princes." 

Someone  has  said  that  "as  the  sword  of  the  best 
tempered  metal  is  most  flexible,  so  really  large  men 
are  the  most  pliant  and  courteous  in  their  behavior 
to  their  inferiors."  An  aged  negro  met  a  fine  old 
Kentuckian  on  the  streets  of  a  southern  city,  and 
with  a  low  bow  doffed  his  hat.  The  courtly  old  gen- 
tleman acknowledged  the  salutation  by  lifting  his 
own  headgear.  A  younger  man  who  was  with  him 
asked:  "Why  did  you  lift  your  hat  to  that  <nigger?'  " 
The  gentleman  replied:  "My  son,  I  would  not  per- 
mit even  a  'nigger'  to  outdo  me  in  courtesy." 

"Power  is  so  characteristically  calm  that  calmness 
in  itself  has  the  aspect  of  power,  and  forbearance  im- 
plies strength.  The  orator  who  is  known  to  have  at 
his  command  all  the  weapons  of  invective,  is  most 
formidable  when  most  courteous."  Have  we  not 
often  noticed  the  difference  between  the  display  of 
bogus  strength  made  by  the  public  speaker  who  in 
joint  debate  resorts  to  invective,  and  the  real  power 
shown  by  his  opponent  who  hews  to  the  line  in  per- 


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f  If^WlTH  THE  V\T,T,.SHIVI-:R1NG  DOG  IN  HIS  ARMS  ^>*^ 
MAN  .\PPI.IED/f-PR()ITXT10N  ^'  ^^"mACE  STATION" 


if 


Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "  161 


senting  the  question  under  discussion,  ignores  the 
cheap  by-play  of  diatribe,  and  strikes  with  every 
sentence  sledge  hammer  blows  in  clinching  his  point? 
Have  we  not  often  noticed  the  difference  between  the 
fictitious  power  displayed  by  the  blustering  braggart 
and  the  genuine  strength  manifested  by  the  soft 
spoken  man? 

No  truer  words  were  ever  written  than  when  it  was 
said:  "The  bravest  are  the  tenderest,  the  loving  are 
the  daring."  Several  years  ago  there  Hved  in  a 
southern  town  a  man  who  had  served  as  a  captain 
in  the  Confederate  army.  While  this  man  had  made 
a  good  record  as  a  soldier  and  was  known  among  his 
comrades  as  a  brave  man,  he  had  for  many  years 
after  the  close  of  the  war  lived  such  a  simple  and 
peaceful  life  that  a  newcomer,  who  delighted  in 
iJeing  known  as  a  "fighting  man"  conceived  the  very 
arroneous  notion  that  the  captain  was  a  coward. 
On  one  occasion  the  captain's  position  on  a  public 
question  did  not  happen  to  suit  the  newcomer,  and 
so  anxious  was  he  for  a  quarrel  that  he  falsely  inter- 
preted some  of  the  remarks  made  by  the  captain  as 
a  personal  affront  to  himself.  With  much  ado  he 
sent  word  to  the  captain  that  he  would  kill  him  on 
sight,  expecting,  doubtless,  that  the  captain  would 
immediately  leave  the  town. 

This  captain  was  particularly  devoted  to  his  home, 
and  was  not  often  seen  on  the  street  comers,  but  all 
the  town  knew  of  the  warning  that  had  been  sent  to 
him,  and  all  the  town  observed  that  on  the  morning 
following  the  day  when  the  warning  was  delivered, 
the  captain  was  standing  on  a  street  comer,  looking 


162         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

very  much  like  one  who  was  "waiting  for  something 
to  turn  up."  For  several  days  the  captain  spent 
most  of  his  time  on  the  conspicuous  street  comers 
of  the  town,  but  it  was  noticeable  that  the  "fighting 
man"  was  not  as  much  in  evidence  as  was  his  wont. 
He  had  caught  sight  of  the  captain's  stalwart  form 
and  he  had  read  something  in  the  lines  of  the  cap- 
tain's furrowed  face  that  prompted  him  to  seek  the 
coimsel  of  friends.  To  one  of  these  friends  the  "fight- 
ing man"  appealed,  suggesting  that  he  take  the  lead 
in  effecting  a  compromise.  This  friend,  who  was  a 
bit  disgusted,  asked  the  "fighting  man"  why  he  did 
not  go  in  search  of  the  captain  and  carry  out  his 
threat?  The  "fighting  man"  replied:  "I  don't  like 
the  looks  of  that  old  duffer  a  bit!  They  tell  me,  also, 
that  he's  a  fatalist.  What  chance  would  I  have  with 
a  man  of  that  kind?  I'd  be  afraid  that  his  bullets 
might  hit  me  at  any  minute,  and  he'd  know  that  my 
bullets  wouldn't  hit  him  unless  his  time  had  come." 
Through  the  intercession  of  this  friend  peace  was 
established.  He  had  no  trouble  with  the  captain, 
because,  being  a  man  of  real  courage,  he  had  no  desire 
to  fight. 

We  can  not  always  tell  just  where  we  will  find 
real  courage,  nor  can  we  always  determine  by  a  man's 
conduct  whether  he  is  brave  or  cowardly.  A  gen- 
tleman of  national  repute,  for  several  years  lieuten- 
ant governor  of  a  western  state,  and  at  one  time  first 
assistant  secretary  of  war,  had  occasion  many  years 
ago  to  visit  a  Wisconsin  town.  There  he  called  at 
the  office  of  a  man  against  whom  he  had  commenced 
a  law  suit.     The  man  attacked  him,  and  in  the  Ian- 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "        163 

guage  of  one  of  the  daily  papers  he  "ran  like  a  white- 
head." Whether  he  ran  just  that  way  or  not,  it  is 
very  certain  that  he  sought  safety  in  flight,  and  some 
people  concluded  that  this  showed  that  he  was  a 
coward.  But  Nebraskans  who  had  occasion  to  see 
this  gentleman's  courage  tested  were  not  surprised 
when  they  learned  of  a  little  incident  that  took  place, 
perhaps  twelve  months  later,  on  a  Washington  City 
street.  A  man  had  stabbed  a  companion  to  death, 
and  flourishing  his  bloody  knife  above  his  head 
warned  the  bystanders  not  to  interfere  with  him. 
The  man  who  in  Wisconsin  "ran  like  a  whitehead," 
happened  to  be  passing.  Pushing  his  way  through 
the  great  crowd  he  walked  up  to  the  murderer,  de- 
manding his  surrender,  and,  with  the  very  plain  de- 
termination in  his  demeanor,  compelling  compliance 
with  his  demand. 

One  of  the  tenderest  of  men,  and  one  of  the  bravest, 
was  the  surgeon  of  the  Seventh  Illinois  infantry  regi- 
ment. All  of  the  men  of  that  regiment  knew  of  this 
surgeon's  tenderness;  until  the  episode  to  which 
reference  is  about  to  be  made  occured,  not  all  of  the 
men  of  that  regiment  knew  of  his  great  courage. 
A  major  in  the  Seventh  Illinois  tells  the  interesting 
story.  On  one  occasion  a  pompous  division  surgeon 
was  inspecting  the  temporary  hospital  erected  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Seventh  Illinois  boys.  The  divi- 
sion surgeon  had  with  him  a  company  of  friends,  and 
the  entire  party  seemed  well  impressed  with  its  im- 
portance. The  regimental  surgeon  escorted  the  party 
through  the  hospital,  describing  each  case  as  they 
came  to  it.     When  they  reached  the  cot  of  one  man 


164         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 


who  had  been  severely  wounded  in  the  hip  the  divi- 
sion surgeon,  who  was  considerably  more  of  a  dress 
parade  man  than  a  man  of  science,  cruelly  jabbed 
his  thumb  into  the  wound.     Although  this  division 
surgeon  was  his  superior  ofl&cer  the  surgeon  of  the 
Seventh  Illinois  seized  him  and  with  an  angry  excla- 
mation threw  him  half  way  across  the  hospital  floor, 
at  the  same  time  uttering  what  the  Major  says  was 
the  only  epithet  he  ever  heard  from  the  Ups  of  the 
righteously  indignant  doctor.     Then  the  regimental 
surgeon,  completely  ignoring  the  presence  of  his  supe- 
rior and  the  members  of  his  party,  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  alleviation  of  the  pain  of  the  injured  soldier 
who  had  screamed  with  agony  at  the  division  surgeon's 
touch.     "It  was  the  bravest  act  I  ever  saw,"  said  the 
major,  "and  we  expected  at  any  moment  that  a  guard 
would  be  sent  under  instructions  to  place  our  surgeon 
under  arrest  on  the  charge  of  assaulting  a  superior 
officer.     Every  man  in  the  regiment  loved  the  Sev- 
enth Illinois  surgeon,  and  while  we  admired  his  cour- 
age, we  could  not  help  but  regret  his  bad  judgment. 
But  for  some   reason   or   other,  no   action  was  ever 
taken.    Perhaps  the  superior  officer  thought  it  would 
be  just  as  well   to  let  well  enough  alone." 

Under  the  warden  of  a  western  penitentiary,  the 
lock-step,  that  abominable  pretense  at  discipline  which 
is  humiliating  to  everyone  required  to  witness  it, 
as  it  must  be  to  every  one  required  to  engage  in  it,  has 
been  abolished.  A  system  has  been  adopted  whereby 
men  may  avoid  the  hated  stripes.  When  a  man 
enters  the  prison  he  is  required  to  wear  the  striped 
earb  for  a  period  of  six  months.     If  his  conduct  has 


<*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         165 

been  good  during  that  time  he  may  then  discard  the 
stripes,  donning  a  neat  uniform  of  gray,  and  this 
xmiform  he  is  permitted  to  keep  during  good  beha- 
vior. If  he  offends,  then  as  a  punishment  the  stripes 
are  again  placed  upon  him,  and  he  must  wear  them 
for  another  six  months,  when,  if  he  has  behaved  well, 
they  are  removed. 

The  prisoners  are  so  averse  to  the  stripes  that  this 
warden  has  found  that  this  is  about  the  only  method 
of  pimishment  necessary.  Indeed,  except  perhaps  in 
two  cases  where  desperate  men  have  made  assaults 
upon  guards,  it  has  not  been  necessary,  for  some  time, 
to  resort  to  the  solitary  confinement  plan  or  other 
forms  of  cruel  punishment. 

One  of  the  essential  methods  of  advancing  prison 
reform  is  to  place  prisoners  under  the  control  of  men 
of  kindly  impulse,  men  who  recognize  the  fact  that 
even  though  these  unfortunate  creatures  are  deprived 
of  their  liberty  they  are  yet  human  beings,  and  it  is 
the  duty  of  society,  and  society's  agents,  to  make  their 
lot  as  happy  as  possible  imder  the  circumstances. 
This  warden  is  one  of  these  men,  and  he  has  made 
such  progress  in  his  reforms,  and  such  improvements 
in  the  methods  of  conducting  a  state  penitentiary  that 
when  the  stranger  goes  there  he  finds  his  visit  robbed 
of  much  of  the  distressing  sights  that  usually  press 
upon  the  attention  of  a  visitor  to  a  prison. 

Recently  the  warden  was  showing  a  party  through 
the  prison.  Among  them  was  a  charming  woman 
who,  after  the  party  had  spent  some  time  in  the  war- 
den's company,  remarked  to  a  companion  that  the 
warden  reminded  her  very  much  of  her  father,  who 


166         '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '* 

had  died  a  few  years  ago.  When  the  tour  had  been 
concluded,  and  the  party  reached  the  warden's  office, 
this  woman  turning  to  the  warden  asked: 

"Well,  do  these  prisoners  mind  you?" 

The  warden  rather  hesitatingly  replied:  "Oh,  yes, 
of  coiu*se  they  mind  me." 

Then  she  asked:     "But  are  they  afraid  of  you?" 

The  warden  laughingly  answered:  "Oh,  I  don't 
know  that  they  are  particularly  afraid  of  me." 

Promptly  and  with  great  earnestness — her  fine  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  drawn  doubtless  by  the  resemblance 
between  this  big  bodied  and  big  hearted  warden  and 
her  own  good  father — this  charming  woman  said: 
"Well,  I  wouldn't  mind  you!  I  wouldn't  be  afraid 
of  you  one  bit!" 

Coming  as  it  did  it  was  one  of  the  prettiest  compli- 
ments ever  given. 

In  one  respect  this  fair  visitor  was  right;  in  another 
she  was  wrong.  Convicts  are  not  afraid  of  such  men 
as  this  warden,  but  they  "mind"  them.  Like  other 
men  who  are  great  in  real  courage  and  genuine 
strength,  this  warden  is  great  in  kindness  and  in  love. 

••Coxirage,  the  highest  gift,  that  scorns  to  bend 

To  mean  devices  for  a  sordid  end. 

Courage — an  independent  spark  from  Heaven's  bright  throne 

By  which  the  soul  stands  raised,  triumphant,  high,  alone. 

Great  in  itself,  not  praises  of  the  crowd, 

Above  all  vice,  it  stoops  not  to  be  proud. 

Courage,  the  mighty  attribute  of  powers  above, 

By  which  those  great  in  war  are  great  in  love. 

The  spring  of  all  brave  acts  is  seated  here, 

As  falsehoods  draw  their  sordid  birth  from  fear.** 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '»         167 


KILLING  MEN 

)ANY  years  ago  a  hanging  took  place  at  a 
little  town  in  Arkansas.  The  victim  of  the 
law's  lawlessness  was  known  as  a  "bad  man." 
From  all  portions  of  the  surrounding  coimtry 
men,  women  and  children  had  gathered  to  take  in  the 
awful  sight  of  a  man  being  put  to  death  by  civilized 
society.  A  singing  teacher  more  or  less  famous  in  the 
neighborhood,  was  conspicuous  on  that  occasion.  The 
condemned  man,  manacled  at  wrist  and  ankle,  was 
seated  in  front  of  the  judge's  stand  in  the  great  court 
room,  which  was  crowded  with  people.  A  fine  old 
preacher  delivered  a  fine  old  sermon,  and  then  the 
singing  teacher  took  his  place  in  the  front  and  an- 
nounced that  while  they  were  singing  a  hymn  those 
who  desired  could  pass  the  prisoner  and  bid  him  good- 
bye. In  single  file  the  people  marched  before  the 
condemned  man.  Tears  were  coursing  down  the 
cheeks  of  most  of  them,  and  many  women  and  children 
were  sobbing  with  emotion  as  they  grasped  the  hand 
of  that  healthy  yet  dying  man,  and  all  joined  under 
the  leadership  of  that  never  to  be  forgotten  choir 
master  in  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "Oh,  tell  me, 
Brother,  will  you  meet  me  on  Canaan's  happy  Shore?'* 

Later,  when  the  scaffold  had  been  reached  and  the 
noose  and  the  black  cap  had  been  adjusted,  that  same 
choir  master  stepped  to  the  front  and  invited  the  im- 
mense throng  to  join  him  in  singing  that  fearfully  ap- 
propriate hymn,  "0,  Come,  Angel  Band,  and  Bear  me 
Away  on  your  Snowy  Wings.'* 


168         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '* 

Reference  to  this  incident  recalls  the  fact  that  the 
American  people  are  making  some  progress  along  these 
lines.  In  many  states  it  is  decreed  by  law  that  exe- 
cutions shall  take  place  in  the  state  prison,  thus  reliev- 
ing the  commimity  in  which  the  crime  was  committed 
from  the  disturbances  incident  to  a  public  execution. 
No  state  that  has  tried  this  reform  could  be  persuaded 
to  return  to  the  old  plan. 

But  a  better  sign  is  the  evidently  growing  tendency 
against  capital  punishment.  Not  long  ago  in  the 
city  of  Omaha  so  much  difficulty  was  encountered  in 
securing  a  jury  whose  members  would  permit  the 
infliction  of  the  death  penalty  that  the  attempt  was 
abandoned.  The  county  attorney  permitted  a  sen- 
tence to  life  imprisonment,  upon  the  plea  of  guilty, 
and,  somehow  or  other,  every  one  felt  relieved. 

The  arguments  against  capital  punishment  are  too 
well  known  to  require  restatement  at  this  time.  They 
are  in  the  heart  of  every  man.  In  the  absence  of  that 
deep  personal  interest  that  cries  for  vengeance  or  in 
the  abandonment  of  the  foolish  notion  that  men  in 
mass  must  slay  in  order  to  prevent  individuals  from 
murder — those  arguments  force  their  way  to  the  front 
and  cluster  around  the  centerpiece  provided  in  the 
divine  command  "Thou  Shalt  Not  Kill." 

If  I  had  ever  believed  in  capital  punishment  I  am 
sure  that  my  observations  at  this  Arkansas  town 
would  have  converted  me.  Being  a  correspondent  in 
a  neighboring  town  for  a  St.  Louis  newspaper,  I  was 
detailed  to  report  the  execution.  I  arrived  at  the 
little  town  the  night  before  the  hanging  took  place, 
and  spent  the  night  with  the  condemned  man.     It 


<*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '*         169 

was  only  natural  that  those  experiences  should  have 
a  marked  impression  upon  one  of  my  age  at  the  time; 
I  was  then  but  19  years  of  age;  yet  subsequent  expe- 
riences and  observations  have  but  confirmed  my 
opposition  to  the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty. 

Physically  the  condemned  man  was  a  fine  specimen 
of  manhood.  He  did  not  look  like  an  assassin.  Yet 
while  he  claimed  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  particular 
crime  for  which  he  was  to  be  executed,  he  admitted 
that  he  had  killed  several  men,  for  which  crimes  he 
had  not  been  called  to  account.  I  do  not  mean  to 
undertake — and,  in  truth,  I  am  incapable  of  giving 
— a  recital  of  the  experiences  of  that  night  During  all 
the  long  hours — and  they  were  the  longest  that  I  have 
ever  spent — this  man  sat  with  the  bible  in  his  hand. 
There  grew  up  between  him  and  myself  what  seemed 
to  be  a  strong  and  stalwart  friendship.  It  is  strange 
how  closely  one  may  be  drawn  to  a  fellow  being  in  a 
short  time  under  such  circumstances.  He  did  not 
expect  to  die.  He  really  believed  that  the  governor 
would  reprieve  him,  and  every  time  the  door  was 
opened  he  looked  up,  evidently  expecting  that  the 
message  had  arrived.  I  shall  never  forget  the  dawn 
of  that  day.  I  was  perhaps  awaiting  the  looked 
for  message  as  anxiously  as  was  the  convicted  man 
himself.  It  was  at  the  first  sight  of  sunshine  that  the 
condemned  man  settling  himself  comfortably  in  his 
chair  said:  "Well,  it  will  be  here  soon,  now."  And 
turning  to  me>  he  added:  "We  won't  have  to  worry 
much  longer,  old  fellow."  Ten  minutes  later  we 
found  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  "worrying 
much   longer,'^    The  message  came,  and  it  was  the 


170  ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »' 


mere  announcement  that  the  governor  would  not 
interfere  and  that  the  execution  must  proceed. 

It  was  plain  that  the  condemned  man,  like  all  others 
against  whom  the  whole  world  has  seemed  to  turn, 
was  not  averse  to  sympathy,  and  perhaps  for  the  first 
time  in  the  many  5'^ears  of  his  ill-spent  life,  he  appre- 
ciated the  companionship  of  one,  who,  while  finding  no 
excuse  for  his  crimes,  pitied  him  for  his  fate.  At  his 
urgent  invitation  I  rode  beside  him  to  the  gallows. 
Just  before  he  died  I  bade  him  good-bye  and  hurried 
away  to  send  my  dispatches.  While  I  was  greatly 
disturbed  by  the  experiences  through  which  I  had 
passed,  I  was,  after  all,  glad  that  I  had  received  the 
assignment  because  there  was  then,  and  is  now,  ring- 
ing in  my  ears  the  words  of  that  dying  man  who  was 
strong  and  brave  to  the  last:  "Good-bye,  old  fellow. 
I'm  mighty  glad  you  came.  You  helped  me  a  whole 
lot,  and  you've  been  a  good  friend  to  me  in  these  last 
hours." 

I  had  only  known  the  man  for  perhaps  twenty-four 
hours,  but  it  seemed  to  me  like  a  life-time,  and  I  did 
not  doubt  then,  as  I  do  not  doubt  now,  what  would 
happen  should  it  ever  come  to  pass  that  I  had  the 
power  to  save  a  human  Ufe. 

The  time  will  yet  come  when  civilized  society  will 
set  itself  squarely  against  the  death  penalty.  Men 
will  yet  be  forced  to  admit,  as  they  must  now  know, 
that 

*'Ef  you  take  a  sword  and  draw  it, 
An  go  stick  a  feller  thru, 
Gov'ment  aint  to  answer  for  it  — 
God'll  send  the  bill  to  you." 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         171 


GOVERNOR  HOGG'S  MONUMENT 

|OME  time  prior  to  his  death  the  late  Governor 
Hogg  of  Texas  speaking  to  his  children  said: 
"I  want  no  monument  of  stone  or 
marble.  Let  my  children  plant  at  the 
head  of  my  grave  a  pecan  tree  and  at  the  foot 
an  old-fashioned  walnut.  And  when  these  trees 
shall  bear  let  the  pecans  and  the  walnuts  be 
given  out  among  the  plain  people  of  Texas  so 
that  they  may  plant  them  and  make  Texas  a 
land  of  trees." 

What  better  monument  could  any  man  ask?  There 
is  something  so  intensely  practical  about  Governor 
Hogg's  suggestion  that  it  would  be  well  if  men  gen- 
erally could  adopt  his  view  on  the  monimient  question. 
In  this  country,  as  in  other  countries,  fortunes  are 
wasted  in  the  erection  of  monuments  of  stone  or 
marble,  and  these  do  not  serve  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  the  one  in  whose  honor  they  are  erected, 
while  they  are  of  no  practical  service  to  society.  If 
some  of  the  vast  sums  spent  in  the  erection  of  monu- 
ments of  marble  and  of  stone  had  been  used  for  the 
establishment  of  orphan  asylums  or  of  old  people's 
homes,  the  memory  of  the  one  in  whose  name  such 
contributions  were  given  would  be  more  lasting. 

We  are  told  that  Governor  Hogg's  children  intend 
to  carry  out  his  wishes  in  this  respect.  The  people  of 
Texas,  grateful  to  this  man  for  the  services  he  gave  to 
the  public  interests,  will  not  be  slow  in  gathering  at 
his  grave   in  order   that  while  doing  honor   to  his 


172         ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

memory,  they  may  secure  a  seed  consecrated  with  his 
dust,  plant  it  in  Texas  soil,  and  make  the  Lone  Star 
state  "a  land  of  trees." 

It  is  at  once  a  beautiful  and  a  practical  suggestion. 
It  is  eminently  characteristic  of  the  man  who  made  it. 
He  was  a  plain  American  citizen,  having  supreme 
contempt  for  the  foibles  and  the  vanities  of  life.  It 
is  related  that  while  Governor  Hogg  was  visiting  in 
England  the  American  minister  offered  to  present  him 
at  the  court  of  the  king.  Governor  Hogg  accepted 
the  invitation  and  arrayed  himself  in  evening  dress. 
He  was  told  that  in  order  to  be  presented  to  the  king 
he  must  be  fitted  out  in  knee  breeches  and  other 
regalia  peculiar  to  the  court.  Governor  Hogg  re- 
volted, and  promptly  declined  the  invitation,  saying 
that  in  evening  dress  he  could  be  presented  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  and  if  that  apparel  was 
good  enough  for  the  American  White  House  it  was 
good  enough  for  the  court  of  a  king. 

Who  knows  but  what  Governor  Hogg's  suggestion 
with  respect  to  a  monument  may  be  the  beginning  of 
a  great  and  necessary  reform  in  that  line?  To  many 
people  it  has  seemed  strange  that  we  have  clung  so 
tenaciously  to  the  foolish  custom  of  seeking  to  per- 
petuate tender  memories  by  the  erection  of  useless 
stone.  It  is,  of  course,  proper  that  the  memories  of 
men  who  have  given  faithful  service  to  society  be 
preserved,  but  this  end  may  be  better  attained  when 
the  method  adopted  serves  in  a  practical  way  as  a 
reminder  of  their  worth.  Governor  Hogg  will  live  in 
the  memory  of  Texans  for  many  years  to  come  because 
of  his  faithful  service  to  the  people,  and  so  long  as  the 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         173 

pecan  tree  and  the  walnut  tree  that  are  to  be  planted 
at  his  grave  give  forth  seed,  in  order  to  make  Texas  "a 
land  of  trees,"  rising  generations  will  be  reminded  of 
his  good  deeds. 

It  may  be  true  that  after  awhile  thinking  men  and 
women  will  bring  about  some  other  essential  reforms 
vvith  respect  to  the  dead.  Many  people  are  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  we  have  all  too  long  adhered  to  the 
mourning  customs  which  prevail  today,  but  which, 
properly,  belong  to  the  dark  ages.  No  service  can  be 
rendered  the  dead  by  these  outward  displays  of  grief, 
while  those  who  at  the  moment  need  all  the  relief  that 
is  within  the  power  of  humans  to  bestow  are  not  aided 
by  the  somber  display  attendant  upon  our  funeral 
ceremonies.  Sometime  in  the  not  distant  future  the 
band  of  crepe  on  the  man's  hat,  and  the  heavy  black  in 
the  widow's  apparel  will  be  abolished.  Instead  of  the 
black  ribbon  on  the  door  knob  there  will  be  a  wreath 
of  flowers,  and  in  every  particular  the  ceremonies  will 
be  robbed  of  that  outward  display  which  if  it  represents 
anything  at  all,  indicates  an  utter  hopelessness  directly 
at  variance  with  the  faith  most  of  us  profess.  The 
immense  sums  of  money  now  spent  in  the  purchase  of 
cut  flowers  that  wither  on  the  grave  will  be  diverted 
— and  in  the  name  of  the  dead — to  sweet  charity.  We 
will  plant  and  cultivate  the  rose,  the  violet  and  the 
"forget-me-nots  of  the  angels"  in  the  soil  where  our 
beloved  sleepy  but  we  will  turn  resolutely  away  from 
all  temptations  to  that  vain  display  which  makes 
mockery  of  grief  and  gives  affront  to  the  memory  of 
one  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  service  of  his  fellows. 


174         '*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '» 


"A  GRAND  OLD  MAN" 

|ACH  year  at  Christmas  the  friends  of 
Santa  Claus  find  it  necessary  to  combat  the 
efforts  of  those  who  would  have  the  world 
reject  the  grand  old  man. 

"The  world  is  growing  too  old  and  too  wise  for 
Santa  Claus.  It  has  made  up  its  mind  that  it  will 
have  none  of  him."  This  is  a  sample  of  the  state- 
ments made  by  the  skeptics  of  this  period. 

A  New  York  newspaper  recently  summed  up  the 
arguments  made  by  the  enemies  of  Santa  Claus  in  this 
way: 

"But  on  the  whole  the  truth- tellers  have  the 
best  of  it.  This  is  a  practical  age,  and  the  ten- 
dency is  toward  bald,  bare,  absolute  truth  in 
everything." 

But  the  truth- tellers  are  certainly  not  among  those 
who  are  so  practical  that  they  make  bold,  through  a 
mistaken  notion  of  duty,  to  deny  the  existence  of 
Santa  Claus. 

According  to  this  New  York  newspaper  the  "truth- 
tellers"  say  that  "when  the  child's  world  is  peopled 
with  the  sort  of  folk  that  one  must  lie  awake  at  night 
to  see — as  one  does  for  Santa  Claus  on  Christmas 
Eve — he  must  grow  up  under  the  disadvantage  of 
having  at  every  step  to  free  his  mind  from  a  delusion, 
an  error,  a  wrong  belief."  Well,  the  child's  world  in 
all  the  years  of  Christendom  has  been  peopled  with 
just  that  sort  of  folk;  in  all  the  years  of  Christendom 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         175 

little  children  on  Christmas  Eve  have  shoved  the  "sand 
man"  farther  and  farther  away,  and  have  strained  their 
little  ears  in  the  effort  to  hear  the  footsteps  of  the  good 
old  saint  whose  existence,  as  whose  coming,  they  have 
never  for  a  moment  doubted.  Yet  during  all  these 
years  children  have  grown  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, and  they  have  never  found  themselves  handi- 
capped in  the  struggle  with  the  great  duties  of  life 
because  they  spent  their  childhood  within  the  hal- 
lowed precincts  where  the  existence  of  Santa  Claus  is 
recognized  and  the  skeptic  is  barred. 

"Kriss  Kringle"  is  the  patron  saint  in  Germany,  and 
it  is  known  by  the  well  informed  in  that  portion  of  the 
earth  that  he  actually  made  his  roimds  on  Christmas 
Eve  and  dropped  down  the  chimney  gifts  for  the  good 
and  obedient.  In  Russia  it  is  Saint  Nicholas,  and  it 
is  not  denied  that  he  was  a  real  man  who  lived  about 
300  A.  D.  We  are  told  that  this  man  was  a  noted 
bishop  whose  name,  because  of  his  good  deeds  and 
generous  acts,  became  a  synonym  for  kindness  and 
generosity.  According  to  one  story,  this  good  old 
saint,  clad  in  fur  from  top  to  toe,  was  in  the  habit  of 
going  around  in  a  sleigh  drawn  by  fleet  footed  rein- 
deers. From  one  of  his  thoughtful  acts  came  the 
custom  of  hanging  up  stockings  on  Christmas  Eve.  It 
is  said  that  a  poor  nobleman  in  Russia,  having  no 
money  with  which  to  provide  marriage  dowers  for  his 
three  daughters,  was  about  to  force  them  to  support 
themselves  by  a  degrading  life.  Saint  Nicholas  learn- 
ing the  facts,  passed  the  nobleman's  house  one  Christ- 
mas Eve,  and  threw  a  purse  of  gold,  shaped  as  a  slip- 
per, through  the  window.     On  the  following  night  the 


176         ^^  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom 


)> 


second  daughter  received  a  similar  gift,  and  the  third 
night  the  youngest  daughter  detected  the  good  old 
saint  throwing  a  stocking  filled  with  gold  into  her 
window.  In  this  way  a  dower  was  provided  for  each 
daughter,  and  from  these  incidents  is  said  to  have 
grown  the  custom  of  placing  gifts  in  shoes  and  stock- 
ings on  Christmas  Eve. 

From  these  reputable  ancestors  the  Santa  Claus  of 
today  is  descended. 

Santa  Claus  is  not  a  myth,  the  so-called  truth- 
tellers  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  He  is  a  real 
being  who  acts;  and  so  strong  is  his  personality,  so 
inspiring  are  his  characteristics,  that  he  sways  the 
hearts  of  men  in  every  clime  where  the  crucifix  is  the 
emblem  and  Christ  is  the  Master. 

Who  would  begrudge  the  world  the  happiness  it  has 
obtained  from  its  conception  of  the  generous  old  mes- 
senger of  Christmas  Eve?  Who  would  withhold  from 
men  the  inspiration  Santa  Claus  has  given?  Who 
would  tear  from  the  life  book  of  "of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven"  its  best  and  brightest  chapter? 

Here's  to  Santa  Claus!  May  his  shadow  never  grow 
less!  He  is  the  annual  reminder  that  "I  am  my 
brother's  keeper."  He  is  the  walking  delegate  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man.  He  is  the  living  exemplar  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount;  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence might  have  been  written  within  his  tool  shop; 
and  the  treaties  declaring  peace  between  warring 
peoples  might  have  been  framed  upon  his  workbench. 

The  duties  of  Santa  Claus  are  not  confined  to  the 
filling  of  children's  stockings.  Where  women  have 
fallen  he  gives  words  of  cheer  and  extends  a  helping 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         177 

hand.  Where  hope  is  dead  within  the  breasts  of  men, 
he  revives  it.  Where  God's  creatures  are  naked  he 
provides  clothes;  where  they  are  hungry  he  gives  food; 
where  they  are  disconsolate  he  gives  encouragement. 
And  whenever  in  the  horizon  of  a  life  there  is  not  to 
be  seen  a  single  star,  he  touches  the  situation  with  his 
magic  wand  and,  lo  and  behold,  in  that  same  horizon 
there  is  not  to  be  found  a  single  cloud. 

In  the  life  of  the  adult  he  is  a  strong  and  permanent 
force,  according  to  the  alacrity  with  which  men  turn 
from  the  shadows  to  the  sunbeams,  and  the  earnest- 
ness with  which  they  cultivate  those  habits  of  thought 
that  lead  men  upward  and  onward. 

In  the  life  of  the  child — ah,  that  is  where  the  good 
old  saint  is  at  his  best!  There  he  is  at  his  best  not 
only  for  the  happiness  he  brings  to  the  little  ones,  but 
because  that  happiness  is  of  the  contagious  kind  and 
resiilts  in  the  distribution  of  blessings  and  sunshine 
and  in  the  cultivation  of  love  and  joy  and  optimism 
— even  sometimes  among  eminently  practical  men  and 
women  who,  mingling  with  the  little  ones  as  they 
empty  their  stockings  on  Christmas  morning  may 
learn  that  "it  is  not  all  of  life  to  live,  nor  all  of  death 
to  die." 

This  New  York  newspaper  asks  how  it  would  seem 
to  have  placed  over  the  door  of  the  little  shop  at  the 
North  Pole  the  sign: 

Santa  Claus  Forced 
Out  of  Business. 

When  such  a  sign  has  been  placed  above  the  bank- 
ing houses,  the  counting  rooms  and  the  factories  of  the 
land;  when  hope  has  died  within  the  hearts  of  men; 


178         "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

when  love  has  faded  from  the  earth;  when  civilization 
has  been  acknowledged  a  failure;  when  it  has  been 
conceded  that  might  is  above  right;  when  men  have 
turned  from  all  that  is  good  and  noble  and  tender 
within  this  vale  of  tears,  then  it  will  be  time  enough  to 
place  such  a  sign  above  the  workshop  of  this  grand  old 
man.  He  has  done  more  to  cultivate  love,  and  more 
to  increase  the  sum  of  human  happiness  than  any  other 
brought  into  being  since  the  heavenly  host  sang, 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,  and  on  Earth  Peace, 
Good  Will  Toward  Men,"  and  the  wise  men  of  the 
East  poured  their  treasures  into  the  manger  at 
Bethlehem. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         179 


BURDENS    OF    THE   CHRISTMAS    SEASON 

[RIOR  to  Christmas  Day  in  the  year  of  1906, 
a  Cleveland,  Ohio,  newspaper  printed  the 
following: 

"Christmas  was  foreshadowed  in  the  coim- 
ty  recorder's  office  last  week.  Day  after  day  it  be- 
came more  evident  that  December  26  was  pretty 
close  at  hand. 

"A  glance  at  the  office  force  and  their  extra  work 
told  the  story.  The  nimiber  of  chattel  mortgages 
increased  in  proportion  as  Christmas  drew  nearer. 
Yesterday  they  came  in  by  the  score.  This  week  the 
nwnber  will  probably  be  greater  still. 

"The  mortgages  tell  the  story  of  the  way  htmdreds 
of  famiUes  are  getting  their  money  for  Christmas 
presents.  They  look  upon  a  few  'plasters'  on  house- 
hold effects  as  mere  nothing,  when  balanced  against 
the  joy  of  giving.  The  amounts  range  all  the  way 
from  $26  to  $300  and  some  are  for  even  more. 

"The  practice  is  an  old  one,  but  of  late  years  the 
observation  is  made  that  chattel  mortgages  are  be- 
coming more  and  more  popular  in  these  parts  prior 
and  during  the  holiday  season. 

"Toys  must  be  bought  for  the  children — there  must 
be  turkey  and  real  presents  for  the  older  folks,  regard- 
less of  the  day  of  reckoning." 

The  burdens  of  the  Christmas  season  are  becoming 
well  nigh  tmbearable.  Men  and  women  are  embar- 
rassed in  the  selection  of  gifts  for  friends,  and  if  one  of 


180         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

two  friends  happens  to  be  poor,  while  the  other  is  rich, 
it  is  humiliating  to  the  former  not  to  be  able  to  give  to 
his  friend  a  present  that  shall  equal  in  cost  the  one  he 
receives.  As  a  result  in  all  too  many  cases,  men  and 
women  plunge  themselves  into  debt  in  order  to  keep 
up  with  the  mad  pace  set  by  some  of  their  wealthy 
acquaintances. 

"To  be  remembered"  by  one's  friend  is  particularly 
gratifying  during  the  Christmas  season  and  the  desired 
result  may  be  accomplished  just  as  well  through  some 
inexpensive  token  as  by  a  costly  gift.  Some  progress 
along  this  line  has  recently  been  made  by  individuals 
who,  having  heretofore  embarrassed  themselves  by 
the  distribution  of  expensive  gifts  to  a  few  of  their 
friends,  have  made  it  possible  to  remember  practically 
all  of  their  friends  by  sending  to  each  one  a  pretty 
Christmas  card  engraved  with  appropriate  greetings. 
It  would  be  well  if  this  custom  could  grow  to  the  end 
that  the  desired  result  may  be  attained. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  gifts  to  the  children  be 
expensive  ones.  It  is  well  known  by  those  having 
experience  in  the  child's  world  that  the  little  one  upon 
whom  costly  gifts  are  lavished  does  not  derive  from 
the  occasion  nearly  so  much  pleasure  as  the  child  who 
receives  a  few  inexpensive  toys  and  perhaps  along 
with  them  a  pair  of  gloves,  a  warm  cap,  or  some  other 
article  which,  while  serving  as  a  "remembrance"  and 
providing  for  the  child's  pleasure,  will  at  the  same 
time  provide  substantially  for  the  child's  necessities. 

Unquestionably  "the  time  is  ripe  for  an  agitation 
along  this  line."  Men  and  women  everywhere  have 
felt  the  heavy  burdens  consequent  upon  the  exchange 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         181 

of  high-priced  gifts.  It  requires  considerable  courage 
for  men  and  women  to  break  away  from  custom,  but 
if  the  press  will  agitate  this  very  essential  reform,  and 
if  men  and  women  generally  will  resolve  to  restore  the 
Christmas  celebration  to  its  real  place,  there  will  be 
fewer  debts  incurred  through  the  demands  of  the 
Christmas  season  while  that  season  will  lose  none  of 
its  pleasures.  Indeed,  the  pleasures  will  be  greatly 
increased  because  while  we  are  enjoying  them  the 
shadow  of  debts  that  must  be  met  will  not  be  hanging 
over  us.  Our  contemplation  of  the  season  will  not  be 
continually  disturbed  by  thoughts  of  the  sacrifices  we 
must  sooner  or  later  make.  We  will  not  be  contin- 
ually thinking  of  the  day  of  judgment  to  which  our 
creditors  will  certainly  summon  us.  There  will  not 
be  running  continually  through  our  minds  the  strains 
of  that  negro  melody  which  serves  well  as  a  warning 
to  those  who  would  thoughtlessly  incur  obligations: 
"What  ye  gwine  to  do  when  the  rent  comes  around? 
What  ye  gwine  to  say,  how  ye  gwine  to  pay,  what  ye 
gwine  to  do  when  the  rent  comes  aroimd?" 

There  are  many  men  and  women  who  so  embarrass 
themselves  in  the  purchase  of  gifts  for  their  friends 
that  they  are  imable  to  discharge  their  obligations  to 
the  poor.  If  the  customs  of  the  Christmas  season 
were  reformed  there  need  be  no  empty  stockings  and 
no  barren  Christmas  dinner  tables  in  all  this  land.  The 
expenditures  of  the  Christmas  season  could  be  brought 
within  that  reasonable  sum  that  would  avoid  financial 
embarrassment  yet  at  the  same  time  leaving  an  ample 
margin  for  the  discharge  of  the  debt  every  one  of  us 


182         **  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom'' 

owes  to  those  of  our  fellows  who  through  sickness  or 
other  misfortune  must  depend  upon  outside  assistance 
not  only  for  their  Christmas  cheer  but  for  the  actual 
necessities  of  life. 

Men  and  women  should  strive  to  reform  some  of  the 
methods  for  the  celebration  of  the  Christmas  season 
to  the  end  that  that  season  may  be  observed  in  the 
very  spirit  to  which  that  grand  old  man — Santa 
Claus — owes  his  existence. 

The  grand  old  man  for  whom  we  speak  is  not  a 
walking  delegate  for  the  chattel  mortgage  shop.  It  is 
not  his  mission  to  increase  the  burdens  of  the  weary 
mother,  or  to  multiply  the  embarrassments  of  the 
father.  He  gives  no  encouragement  to  the  contest 
between  friends  in  the  effort  to  see  which  can  give 
the  costUest  present.  He  is  not  the  sponsor  for  empty 
stockings  or  barren  larders.  He  is  not  the  promoter 
of  extravagance.  He  is  the  missionary  of  love,  the 
representative  of  a  perfect  democracy  where  every 
human  being  having  the  right  to  life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  is  entitled,  equal  with  every  other 
human  being,  to  the  joys  and  pleasures  of  the  period 
which  marks  his  coming. 

Here's  to  Santa  Claus  again!  May  he  witness  upon 
his  next  visit  the  establishment  of  essential  reforms  in 
the  celebration  of  the  greatest  of  all  days. 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         183 


THE  VALUE  OF  LITTLE  THINGS 

^CONVICT  in  the  Maryland  penitentiary,  de- 
termined to  reform,  has  adopted  a  novel 
means  to  that  end.     A  writer   in   a   Rich- 
mond (Va.)  newspaper,   tells  the  story  in 
this  way: 

"His  scheme  is  to  make  a  chart  from  day  to 
day  of  his  thoughts.  He  takes  a  piece  of  paper 
and  marks  it  off  into  squares.  At  the  top  of  the 
sheet  he  writes  'Purity,'  'Generosity,*  'Kind- 
ness,' 'Behavior,'  'Report,'  'Truthfulness,* 
'Sincerity.'  For  every  good  thought  he  gives 
himself  credit,  and  for  every  evU  thought  he 
makes  a  bad  score.  If  he  manages  to  pass  a  day 
without  being  the  victim  of  any  evil  thoughts,  he 
marks  an  X  on  the  block,  which  means  perfect. 

"In  other  terms,  this  yoimg  man  keeps  a  daily 
account  with  himself,  and  it  is  good  bookkeep- 
ing. The  philosophy  of  life  is  to  live  one  day 
at  a  time  and  have  a  reckoning  at  night.  The 
man  who  will  follow  this  rule  and  keep  an  honest 
score,  crediting  himself  with  his  good  thoughts 
and  good  deeds,  and  charging  the  bad  thoughts 
and  evil  deeds  against  him,  is  apt  by  and  by  to 
fall  into  the  habit  of  working  in  his  own  interest, 
so  to  speak,  from  day  to  day,  so  as  to  make  as 
favorably  an  exhibit  as  possible  when  the  reck- 
oning time  comes  at  nightfall.  Why  may  not 
one  fall  into  habits  of  thrift  and  enterprise  in 


184         "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >> 

promoting  his  moral  welfare  as  in  promoting  his 
material  welfare?  This  youth  in  the  Maryland 
penitentiary  has  given  us  all  a  hint  worth  think- 
ing about." 

An  Omaha  lawyer,  who  for  many  years  has 
served  on  the  Nebraska  district  bench,  has  a  bright 
little  boy  who,  like  other  little  boys  before  him,  finds 
it  difficult  at  times  to  keep  in  the  straight  and  narrow 
path.  This  lad's  name  is  Murray.  He  occupies  a 
tnmdle  bed  in  his  parents'  room,  and  has  the  habit 
of  getting  up  in  the  night  time  and  awakening  his 
parents,  pleading  for  the  privilege  of  sharing  their 
couch.  One  night  he  had  indulged  this  habit  once  or 
twice  and  was  reproved,  promising  that  in  the  future 
he  would  be  "dood."  The  following  night,  about  one 
or  two  o'clock  his  parents  were  aroused  by  the  child's 
sobs,  and  the  mother  enquiring  as  to  the  cause  of  his 
grief,  the  little  fellow  exclaimed: 

"Muddie,  it's  awful  hard  to  be  dood!'* 
Not  long  ago  a  little  boy  who  had  frequently  been 
reproved  by  his  mother  for  his  "badness,"  entered  her 
room,  and  putting  his  Uttle  hand  on  her  shoulder  said: 
"Mamma,  won't  you  please  let  me  be  bad  just  for 
fifteen  minutes?" 

It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  these  Uttle  folks  find  it 
hard  to  put  down  their  mischievousness  when  even 
their  elders  find  it  so  difficult  to  avoid  real  meanness. 
To  avoid  the  evils  to  which  flesh  seems  to  be  heir 
requires  constant  struggle  on  the  part  of  men,  and 
while  it  is,  perhaps,  not  practicable  for  every  one  to 
keep  books  like  the  Maryland  convict,  every  one  would 
find  it  advantageous  if  he  required  a  daily  reckoning 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '*         185 

between  the  "two  men"  who  are  in  every  one  of  us, 
thus  seeking,  as  the  Richmond  newspaper  sug- 
gests, "to  make  as  favorable  an  exhibit  as  possible." 

Great  faults  grow  from  small  weaknesses;  disastrous 
results  come  from  what,  in  the  beginning,  seem  incon- 
sequential lapses.  It  would  be  well  if  the  little  folks 
covild  be  taught  early  in  life  the  value  of  little  things, 
not  only  for  the  purpose  of  economy  so  far  as  money  is 
concerned,  but  as  a  help  toward  the  correct  life.  A 
writer  in  a  Chicago  newspaper  gives  a  hint  of  "the 
value  of  little  things"  when  he  says: 

From  waste  paper  alone  one  railroad  last  year 
realized  $5,000. 

Pins,  pens,  nails,  old  brooms,  bottles,  tin  cans 
and  worn  out  machinery  of  all  sorts  are  gathered 
up  along  the  route  by  all  the  railway  companies 
and  turned  into  money.  Even  the  ashes  are  sold 
or  utilized  for  improving  the  road  bed. 

These  things  seem  small  to  command  the  atten- 
tion of  a  rich  railway  company.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  railway  company  is  rich 
largely  because  it  looks  after  the  little  things. 

The  greatest  corporations  in  the  world  are  not 
above  taking  care  of  the  fractions  of  pennies. 

The  railroad  scrap-heap  of  the  country  last 
year  reached  the  value  of  $1,250,000 — a  most 
respectable  sum  of  money,  notwithstanding  it 
came  from  picked-up  pins  and  paper,  old  nails 
and  old  brooms. 

If  some  man  who  has  lived  long  enough  to  recognize 
the  mistakes  of  his  life  could  reduce  those  mistakes 
to  figures,  giving  to  even  what  at  the  time  seemed 


186         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

to  be  the  smallest  of  these  errors  their  proper  place  in 
the  column,  he  would  render  distinct  service  to  society. 

Every  profane  word  uttered,  every  unkind  act  com- 
mitted, every  impure  thought  tolerated,  every  enmity 
cultivated,  every  piece  of  folly  makes  some  contribu- 
tion to  the  list  of  errors  and  weakens  the  structure  of 
character  imdergoing  the  building  process.  On  the 
other  hand  where,  at  every  step  in  life,  an  effort  is 
made  to  cultivate  in  thought  and  deed  those  things 
suggested  by  the  better  man  within  us,  the  good  re- 
sults count  up  rapidly. 

Between  the  "two  men"  within  every  one  of  us,  it 
is,  as  the  poUticians  would  say,  "a  long  and  heated 
struggle."  Every  time  the  better  man  wins  a  victory 
he  finds,  somehow  or  other,  new  strength  for  the  suc- 
ceeding contest;  and  the  one  who  in  the  process  of 
character-building  ignores  these  small  things  works 
upon  the  sand,  where  the  man  who  places  a  proper 
estimate  upon  them  builds  upon  the  rocks. 


'*  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ' »         1 87 


MILESTONES  ON  LOVE'S  PATHWAY 

I  HE  "riddle  solvers"  are  filling  the  newspa- 
pers with  suggestions  as  to  the  best  method 
of  disposing  of  the  "marriage  problem,"  by 
which  they  mean,  in  truth,  the  divorce  evil. 
One  would  think  that  the  holy  institution  upon  which 
the  world's  homes  are  built  and  through  which  the 
world's  peace  is  made  possible  had  come  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  experiment,  and  admitted  to  be,  as  a 
general  rule,  an  experiment  that  has  failed.  But  the 
failure  is  not  with  the  institution  itself.  It  is  with 
the  individual  and,  comparatively  speaking,  is  only 
with  a  few  individuals.  So  admirable  is  the  institu- 
tion that  it  has  stood  the  test  of  time  and  survived 
the  faults  and  the  follies  of  most  of  the  men  and  the 
women  who  have  taken  advantage  of  it. 

Various  "remedies"  have  been  suggested  and  some 
who  are  so  foolish  as  to  imagine  that  they  even 
think  they  think,  suggest  that  marriages  be  con- 
tracted for  a  five  or  ten-year  period,  with  the  right  to 
renew  if  both  parties  agree.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  upon  any  proposition  in  which  it  is  assumed 
that  the  marriage  tie  is  not  the  holiest  of  all  earthly 
bonds.  Some  one  ought,  however,  to  register  a  pro- 
test— in  the  name  of  the  married  lovers  living  and  the 
married  lovers  dead — against  the  effort  to  make  it 
appear  that  the  institution  should  be  judged  in  the 
records  of  the  divorce  courts  rather  than  in  the  ar- 
chives of  civilization.     When  a  tmiform  divorce  law 


188         "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '* 

is  adopted  by  all  the  states  the  divorce  evil  will  have 
been  reduced  to  the  minimum.  But  even  with  the  un- 
doubtedly large  number  of  divorce  suits,  marriage  is 
by  no  means  a  failure.  In  the  language  of  a  great 
statesman,  it  has  "done  more  toward  the  peace, 
happiness,  settlement,  and  civilization  of  the  world 
than  any  other  part  of  the  whole  scheme  of  divine 
wisdom." 

"All  the  world  loves  a  lover."  It  is  interested  in 
the  youthful  sweethearts  gathered  at  the  trysting 
place,  but  its  profound  admiration  is  commanded  by 
the  picture  of  the  husbands  and  wives  who  are  the 
sweethearts  of  today,  even  as  they  were  the  sweet- 
hearts of  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago.  No  opportunity 
should  be  lost  by  those  who  have  found  that  marriage 
is  not  a  failure  to  impress  their  convictions  upon  the 
rising  generation.  In  this  effort  they  will  be  greatly 
helped  by  reference  to  a  little  volume  prepared  by  a 
New  York  woman  as  a  gift  to  her  husband  the  gift 
to  mark  the  end  of  the  second  decade  of  their  wedded 
happiness. 

The  book  referred  to  is  a  collection  of  letters 
and  poems  written  to  a  charming  woman  by  her  hus- 
band and  compiled  for  the  purpose  of  commemorating 
the  anniversaries  of  their  married  life  of  twenty  years. 
On  their  twentieth  anniversary  this  happy  wife  dis- 
tributed among  her  friends  300  copies  of  this  little 
volume. 

She  explained  that  her  purpose  in  giving  publicity 
to  the  book  was  to  "teach  husbands  and  wives  that 
wedding  anniversaries  are  good  things  to  remember, 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »         189 

for  they  recall  a  tenderness  and  affection  that  should 
not  be  forgotten." 

The  little  volume  was  entitled  "Milestones  on  Love's 
Pathway,"  and  in  the  dedication,  addressing  her  hus- 
band, the  compiler  said: 

"Accept  this  little  compilation  of  some  of  the 
very  many  beautiful  letters  you  have  written  to 
me.  I  have  called  them  'Milestones  on  Love's 
Pathway.'  May  they  recall  to  you  the  happy 
occasions,  and  may  the  thought  that  I  have 
preserved  them  inspire  you  to  continue  these 
lovely  milestones — which  mark  the  way  on  the 
road  of  happiness,  strewn  with  your  kind  deeds 
and  loving  affections." 

Such  things  as  these  are  not  intended  for  the  eyes 
of  men  and  women  whose  feet  are  not  familiar  with 
the  holy  ground  to  which  they  lead;  but  in  cottage  and 
in  castle,  all  over  this  broad  land,  there  are  thousands 
of  men  and  women  with  whom  marriage  has  been 
successful.  There  are  in  the  homes  of  America 
thousands  of  caskets  that  are  filled  with  just  such  love 
letters  as  these,  written  in  many  cases,  by  a  gray- 
haired  lover  to  a  gray-haired  sweetheart.  Li  this  day, 
when  we  are  apt  to  judge  of  the  institution  of  mar- 
riage by  the  records  of  the  divorce  courts,  it  is  in- 
structive, as  it  is  refreshing,  to  be  reminded  that  that 
institution  is  to  be  judged  by  the  experience  of  those 
into  whose  domestic  life  has  come  some  tempest,  but 
much  sunshine,  rather  than  by  the  experiments  of 
those  who  have  seen  all  tempest  and  no  sunshine. 


190         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  these  lines  will  be  read  by  many 
men  who  after  years  of  wedded  life,  may  in  all  truth 
say:  "The  wife  is  dearer  than  the  bride." 

We  need  to  impress  these  things  upon  the  boys  and 
girls  now  growing  into  manhood  and  womanhood.  We 
need  to  impress  upon  them  the  fact  that  the  home  is 
the  hearthstone  of  civilization,  and  that  the  wedding 
day  must  not  terminate  the  period  of  courtship  if 
governments  resting  upon  the  home  are  to  be 
preserved. 


"  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '»       191 


MENDING  GOD'S  LAW 

[NEWSPAPER  dispatch  from  St.  Louis  tells 
of  the  finding  of  the  body  of  a  sixty  year  old 
man  who  had  committed  suicide  because  he 
was  barred  from  work  by  the  age  limit.  He 
left  a  note  saying  that  he  agreed  with  the  theory  that 
when  a  man  reached  a  certain  age  he  should  be  chlo- 
roformed, adding:  "An  old  man  and  a  poor  man  has 
no  place  on  earth.  I  am  broke  and  no  one  will  give 
me  work.  They  look  at  me  with  a  smile,  and  say, 
'We've  got  a  man.'  This  is  no  temporary  insanity 
on  my  part." 

This  is  the  most  pathetic  of  the  several  similar 
incidents  all  growing  out  of  a  scientist's  absurd  rec- 
ommendation. The  recommendation,  considered  by 
itself,  is  not  in  the  least  serious,  but  when  we  remember 
that  the  tendencies  of  the  times  seem  to  be  strictly 
in  accord  with  it,  and  that  in  many  instances  aged 
men  who  have  taken  their  lives  have  referred  to  "the 
theory,"  then  that  theory  becomes  of  general  import- 
ance and  interest  to  society. 

It  would  be  difiicult  to  imagine  anything  more  pa- 
thetic than  the  death  of  this  St.  Louis  man.  Accord- 
ing to  his  own  statement,  he  was  old  and  poor  and  he 
imagined  that  he  "had  no  business  on  earth." 
Because  he  was  aged,  no  one  would  give  him  work, 
and  when  his  body  was  found  in  Forest  Park  we  are 
told  that  "clutched  affectionately  in  one  of  the  cold 


192         "  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom 


»> 


hands  was  a  baby's  shoe  which  he  had  evidently 
carried  in  his  pocket  for  years." 

Many  will  recognize  in  that  baby's  shoe  a  link  that 
should  have  bound  this  man  to  his  Ufe  until  it  was 
claimed  by  his  Maker. 

According  to  "the  theory,"  the  man  who  is  more 
than  40  years  of  age  has  passed  the  period  of  useful- 
ness while  the  one  who  is  more  than  60  should  be 
chloroformed. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  danger  that  the  chloroform 
proposition  will  be  adopted,  and  therefore  the  im- 
portant part  relates  to  the  40-year  proposition.  This 
is  so  because  of  the  growing  tendency  on  the  part 
of  great  corporations  and  other  large  employers  to 
refuse  to  give  employment  to  men  who  have  passed 
the  age  of  40  years  and  to  get  rid  of  such  men  already 
in  their  service  as  rapidly  as  possible.  If  a  man  is 
in  health  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be  at 
his  very  best  after  he  has  passed  the  age  of  40  years; 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  man  should  not  be  in 
perfect  health  at  that  age,  so  far  as  the  mere  wastes 
of  time  are  concerned. 

The  disposition  to  establish  the  40-year  limit  upon 
the  usefulness  of  men  is  one  of  the  greatest  dangers 
threatening  our  civiUzation.  Whenever  that  limit 
shall  be  generally  recognized  among  employers,  then 
it  will  be  quite  the  proper  thing,  in  all  seriousness, 
to  advocate  the  proposition  that  the  man  who  has 
passed  40  years  shall  be  escorted  to  some  secluded 
spot  and  put  to  death. 

Our  civiUzation  is,  indeed,  a  wretched  affair  if  it 
has  brought  us  to  the  conclusion  that  two  score  years 
shall  mark  the  termination  of  a  man's  life.     Our  pro- 


(( 


Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  »'         193 


gress  must  have  been  rapid  if  the  business  houses,  the 
professional  offices,  the  workshops  and  the  corpora- 
tion headquarters  can  best  conduct  their  affairs 
without  that  calm  and  dispassionate  consideration, 
that  wide  experience,  that  devotion  to  duty  and  that 
industry  which,  as  a  rule,  is  marked  among  men  who 
have  passed  their  fortieth  year,  but  which  is  often 
conspicuous  largely  because  of  its  absence  among 
less  matured  men. 

Such  a  rule  as  the  40- year  limit  cannot  long  stand 
the  test  of  intelligence.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
peculiar  age  through  which  we  are  passing,  an  age 
described  by  some  as  the  "age  of  gold,"  by  others, 
and  without  large  distinction  from  the  foregoing  defi- 
nition, as  the  "age  of  greed,"  and  by  others  as  the 
"trust  age."  Corporation  organizers,  greedy  to 
grasp  every  penny  within  or  without  their  sight,  are 
anxious  to  put  all  possible  pressure  upon  men  whom 
they  employ  and  obtain  what  they  beUeve  will  be 
the  highest  possible  results.  They  want  not  men  but 
slaves;  they  want  every  ounce  of  result,  even  though 
to  obtain  it  they  wring  the  last  drop  of  blood  from 
their  hired  man's  veins.  They  are  mistaken  when  they 
think  they  cannot  get  the  very  highest  results  from 
the  healthy  man  who  has  passed  his  fortieth  year. 
But,  as  the  corporationist  closes  his  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  by  his  oppressions  of  the  people  he  is  laying  up 
serious  trouble  for  himself  in  the  future,  he  gives  no 
consideration  to  the  history  of  the  human  race  in 
all  the  ages  and  in  all  the  lands,  a  history  that  serves 
as  a  stinging  rebuke  to  the  rule  he  now  seeks  to  make 
against  the  lives  of  men. 

Better  let  prevail  the  good  old  rule,  *<  A  man's  a  man 
for  a'  that  and  a'  that."     Better  "let  every  tub  stand 


194         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

on  its  own  bottom."  Let  the  man  who  is  capable  of 
earning  a  salary  be  given  the  chance  and  permitted 
to  draw  that  salary  as  long  as  he  shall  discharge  his 
duty  faithfully  and  well,  regardless  of  the  number  of 
years  he  shall  have  spent  in  this  vale  of  tears. 

If  in  the  average  city  every  man  who  has  passed 
the  age  of  40  were  discharged,  that  city's  business 
machine  would  be  at  a  standstill.  V/hile  we  would, 
imdoubtedly,  have  a  large  supply  of  "young  blood  in 
commerce,"  pay  days  would  be  few  and  far  between, 
and  the  newspapers — if,  indeed,  there  were  any 
newspapers  under  those  conditions — ^would  be  filled 
with  the  announcements  of  business  failures. 

We  are  told  that  the  old  Hindoo  saw,  in  his  dream, 
the  human  race  led  out  to  its  various  fortunes.  "First, 
men  were  in  chains  that  went  back  to  an  iron  hand; 
then  he  saw  them  led  by  threads  from  the  brain, 
which  went  upward  to  an  unseen  hand.  The  first 
was  despotism,  iron,  and  ruling  by  force;  the  last  was 
civilization,  ruling  by  ideas." 

Ideas  that  kill  hope  and  destroy  life,  ideas  that 
are  repugnant  to  God's  eternal  laws,  can  have  no 
permanent  place  in  a  civilization  worthy  of  the  name. 
"God  never  made  His  work  for  man  to  mend."  We 
have  been  told  that  "age  does  not  depend  upon  years, 
but  upon  temperament  and  health;  some  men  are 
born  old  and  some  never  grow  so."  And  experience 
has  justified  the  fine  statement  made  by  a  distin- 
guished writer  that  among  many  men,  even  when 
the  spirit  dies  out  with  increasing  age,  "the  power 
of  intellect  is  unaltered  or  increased  and  an  originally 
educated  judgment  grows  broader  and  gentler  as  the 
river  of  life  widens  out  to  the  everlasting  sea." 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  "         195 


A  "LONELY"  HEART 

(NEWSPAPER  writer  referring  to  a  famous 
actor  to  whose  memory  the  world  was  just 
then  paying  tribute,  said  that  he  "carried  a 
lonely  heart  with  him  wherever  he  went." 
It  was  related  that  on  one  occasion  this  actor  said: 

"With  the  applause  of  the  theatre  still  ring- 
ing in  my  ears,  v/ith  the  memory  of  the  kind 
faces  still  blazoned  in  my  memory,  with  the  con- 
sciousness that  I  have  won  the  affection  of  multi- 
tudes whom  I  can  never  meet  in  person,  I  have 
often  gone  home  from  the  theatre  feeling  utterly 
desolate  and  alone — yearning  for  the  intimate 
human  companionship  which  fate  has  denied  me." 

Another  editor  referring   to   this  statement,  said: 
"No  stronger  note  of  pathos  was  ever  struck,"  adding: 

"In  how  many  hearts  has  such  an  echo  sound- 
ed! Men  and  women  there  are  in  plenty,  we  ven- 
ture to  say,  who  have  gone  through  life,  apparently 
crowned  with  the  honors  of  an  admiring  people, 
with  naught  but  an  ache  in  their  heart  and  a 
longing  for  one  touch  of  a  hand,  one  sound  of  a 
voice.  We  phlegmatic  ones,  who  are  content  to 
accept  what  fate  holds  out  to  us  and  who  make 
of  our  little  joys  the  sum  and  substance  of  human 
happiness,  have  but  little  conception  of  the  eter- 
nal gloom  in  which  some  souls  walk.  We  may 
be  thankful  that  the  artistic  temperament  is 
not  ours,  we  may  be  glad  that    our  nerves  are 


196         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

sound  and  our  brains  free  from  mold,  but  the 
pathos  of  the  situation  of  those  accursed  as  was 
Irving  appeals  to  us  nevertheless." 

There  are  a  "mighty  heap"  of  people  in  this  world 
for  a  man  upon  whom  great  honors  have  been  showered 
to  retire  to  his  domicile  "feeling  utterly  desolate  and 
alone — yearning  for  the  intimate  human  compan- 
ionship" which,  as  he  says,  "fate  has  denied  me." 

It  is  absurd  for  a  man  occupying  the  position  held 
by  the  great  actor  to  talk  about  "carrying  a  lonely 
heart"  with  him  "wherever  he  went."  It  is  absurd 
for  men  of  strength  and  intelligence  to  say  that  when 
they  "yearn  for  intimate  human  companionship" 
fate  denies  them  the  boon. 

There  are  in  this  fine  old  world  of  ours,  so  many 
helpless  and  uninfluential  men  and  women  who  yearn 
for  "intimate  human  companionship"  and  who  are 
imable  because  of  their  poverty-stricken  condition 
to  realize  upon  their  ambitions  that  it  seems  the 
height  of  absurdity  for  a  man  who  has — so  far  as 
financial  condition  is  concerned — everything  the 
heart  could  wish,  to  say  that  he  is  denied  that  which, 
as  it  were,  is  waiting  at  his  very  door. 

"Intimate  human  companionship,"  indeed!  All 
over  this  world  today  men  and  women,  poor  and 
helpless,  so  far  as  world's  goods  are  concerned,  yet 
rich  in  heart  and  intellect,  are  waiting  willing  and 
anxious  to  give,  without  money  and  without  price, 
the  very  thing  which,  according  to  the  late  actor, 
was  the  only  thing  lacking  to  the  completion  of  his 
perfect  life. 


**  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  >*         197 

Where  the  newspaper  editor  herein  quoted  sees 
boundless  pathos  in  what  he  calls  the  actor's  ''artistic 
temperament,"  others  may  see  nothing  but  wasted 
opportimities.  Wherever  this  actor  went  he  was 
crowned  with  honors,  and  yet  we  are  told  that  he 
had  "an  ache  in  his  heart  and  a  longing  for  one  touch 
of  a  hand,  one  sound  of  a  voice!" 

Well,  there  are  many  men  and  women  who  are 
poorer  than  this  actor  was,  and  some  men  and  women 
who  are  richer  than  he  was,  who  have  "an  ache  in  the 
heart."  But  not  all  of  these  have  made  the  mis- 
take which  he  seems  to  have  made.  He  would  not 
have  carried  a  "lonely  heart"  if  he  had  helped  to 
bear  the  burdens  of  others,  and  sought  the  great 
benefits  always  to  be  derived  by  one  who,  display- 
ing tender  sympathies  and  giving  kind  words,  casts 
his  bread  upon  the  waters,  not  necessarily  that  it 
may  return  to  him  in  many  days,  but  rather  in  order 
that  he  may  derive  the  best  results  from  life. 

There  is  on  earth  today  altogether  too  much  suf- 
fering and  sorrow  for  any  man,  himself  beyond  the 
distress  of  physical  wants,  to  "carry  a  lonely  heart." 
There  are  too  many  tears  to  be  dried,  too  many  sobs 
to  be  checked,  too  many  naked  limbs  to  be  clothed, 
too  many  empty  stomachs  to  be  filled,  too  many 
hopeless  and  heartsick  men  and  women  to  be  encour- 
aged, for  a  man,  stalwart  in  health  and  powerful  in 
finances,  as  this  great  actor  was,  to  "carry  a  lonely 
heart." 

On  one  occasion  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  spent 
the  night  at  a  southern  home.  On  the  following 
morning  he  mounted  his  horse  in  a  group  of  slaves 
and  was  about  to  ride  away  when  the  mistress  of 


198         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  '' 

the  home  presented  him  a  subscription  list  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Armenians.  Hastily  returning  the 
paper  to  his  fair  hostess,  John  Randolph  waved  his 
hand  over  the  group  of  slaves,  and  said:  "Madam, 
the  Armenians  are  at  your  own  doors." 

At  the  door  of  every  human  being  opportimity 
is  knocking;  it  is  not  always  the  opportunity  of  build- 
ing libraries  or  of  foimding  collegiate  professorships; 
but  it  is  the  opportunity  of  giving  words  of  comfort 
and  of  cheer  to  men  and  women  who  are  struggUng 
under  heavy  loads  and  who  in  many  cases,  need  but 
a  word  to  inspire  them  to  new  and  holier  effort. 

A  man  whose  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  good 
deeds,  and  yet  with  whom  poverty  and  misfortune 
seem  to  have  been  constant  companions,  recently 
complimented  a  fellow  upon  certain  of  his  efforts,  and 
added:  "Such  efforts  will  bring  much  more  from  you 
to  others  than  from  others  to  you;  but  that  is  the 
way  of  this  life's  gigantic  panorama  of  the  universe 
within  our  view;  some  seem  destined  to  receive  and 
some  seem  destined  to  give." 

It  may  have  been  that  this  great  actor  was  "destined 
to  receive."  It  may  have  been  that  with  all  of  his 
successes  he  had  failed  to  learn  how  much  better 
it  is  to  give  than  to  receive. 

Some  one  has  written  that  "nothing  is  more  odious 
than  that  insensibility  which  wraps  a  man  up  in  himself 
and  his  own  concerns  and  prevents  his  being  moved 
with  either  the  joys  or  the  sorrows  of  another."  The 
man  who  so  incumbers  himself  has  wasted  his  best 
opportunities  and,  as  may  have  been  in  this  case, 
has  "carried  a  lonely  heart"— even  unto  the  grave. 


''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  ''         199 

Men  obtain  the  best  from  life  when  they  cultivate 
those  tender  sentiments  which  cluster  around  the 
eternal  truth:  "I  am  my  brother's  keeper."  Con- 
fronting every  human  being  is  the  duty  to  grasp  every 
opportxmity  not  only  to  advance  public  interests 
but  to  ameliorate  individual  misfortune. 

For  years,  and  for  years,  in  the  nurseries  of  America 
tired  children  have  been  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  sweet 
music  of  a  mother's  song;  for  years,  and  for  years, 
that  song  has  been  the  choicest  of  the  nursery  rhymes; 
it  has  refreshed  sweet  mother  singers,  relieved  troubled 
fathers,  and  given  to  the  little  ones  for  whose  benefit 
it  was  sung  an  inspiration  and  a  guide  for  their  future 
life.  Every  man  and  woman  who  has  grown  up 
within  the  memory  of  that  tender  verse  has  had  the 
inspiration  to  make  the  world  happier  and  better; 
every  human  life  whose  conduct  has  been  moulded 
along  the  lines  of  that  simple  song,  has  provided  ma- 
terial contribution  to  the  sum  of  human  happiness. 
Every  man  and  woman  who  has  profited  by  the  les- 
sons of  that  little  verse  has  made  a  reasonable  success 
in  fife,  even  though  wealth  and  position  were  denied. 
In  every  hour  of  our  existence  every  one  of  us  needs 
to  be  reminded  of  that  song.  Written  in  letters  of 
gold  it  should  be  displayed  in  the  apartments  of  every 
king,  of  every  public  ofiicial,  of  every  busy  merchant, 
of  every  man  and  of  every  woman  who  needs  to  be 
reminded  that  it  is  not  all  of  life  to  Hve,  nor  all  of 
death  to  die.  Like  a  sweet  echo  from  the  past,  as 
a  stirring  reminder  of  the  present,  as  a  high  inspira- 
tion for  the  future,  the  simple  words  of  this  little  song 
comes   to  us   today:   "Little   drops  of  water,  little 


200         ''  Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom  " 

grains  of  sand,  make  the  mighty  ocean  and  the 
pleasant  land.  Little  deeds  of  kindness,  little  words 
of  love,  help  to  make  earth  happy  like  the  heaven 
above." 

The  poet  who  complained  of  the  "hermit  souls 
that  live  withdrawn  in  the  place  of  their  self-con- 
tent" provided  a  hint  and  an  inspiration  to  the  help- 
less, hopeless  man  who  is  tempted  to  "carry  a  lonely 
heart"  when  in  his  song  of  humanity  he  wrote: 

"I  see  from  my  house  by  the  side  of  the  road, 

By  the  side  of  the  highway  of  life, 
The  men  who  press  with  the  ardor  of  hope, 

The  men  who  are  faint  with  the  strife. 
But  I  turn  not  away  from  their  smiles  nor  their  tears, 

Both  parts  of  an  infinite  plan. 
Let  me  live  in  my  house  by  the  side  of  the  road, 

And  be  a  friend  to  man. 

"Let  me  live  in  my  house  by  the  side  of  the  road. 

Where  the  race  of  men  go  by; 
They  are  good,  they  are  bad,  they  are  weak,  they  are  strong. 

Wise,  fooUsh,  and  so  am  I, 
Then  why  should  I  sit  in  the  scorner's  seat, 

Or  hurl  the  cynics  ban? 
Let  me  live  in  my  house  by  the  side  of  the  road, 

And  be  a  friend  to  man." 


'*0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom"  201 


"  JIM  " 

)IM  "  was  not  famous  as  the  world  gauges 
fame.  He  had  a  wonderfully  wide  acquaint- 
ance among  individuals,  so  wide,  indeed,  that 

in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  Nebraska  did  not 

seem  to  know  him  he  was  one  of  the  best  known 
Nebraskans. 

Manifestly  it  does  the  dead  no  good  that  the  living 
speak  well  of  them,  but  those  who  feel  a  sorrow  they 
cannot  define  are  disposed  to  say  something  by  way 
of  tribute,  and  these  tributes,  paid  in  faithful  spirit 
to  deserving  men,  do  the  world  no  harm.  I  do  not, 
by  any  means,  intend  to  place  "Jim"  upon  a  pedestal. 
I  know  that  there  are,  all  over  this  world,  men  just 
like  him — men  who  are  obeying  the  divine  injunction, 
"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens."  He  obeyed  that 
injunction. 

We  who  knew  something  of  "Jim's"  circumstances, 
reaUzed  that  although  at  times  his  own  treasury  was 
depleted,  it  seemed  to  be  overflowing — and  all  for 
the  benefit  of  his  fellows.  We  knew  men  staggering 
under  heavy  loads,  in  some  cases  not  so  large  as  his 
own,  who  were  aided  in  their  troubles  and  largely 
relieved  of  their  burdens  by  "Jim's"  advice  and  co-op- 
eration. We  knew — and  this  is  one  of  the  brightest 
stars  in  the  constellation  of  "Jim's"  good  deeds— 
that,  never  in  all  his  life,  did  he  forget  the  widow  or 
the  orphan  of  a  friend. 


202  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom" 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  one  man  will  rush  to 
the  support  of  another,  strong  and  powerful,  but  when 
the  husband  and  father  is  gone  and  there  is  no  chance 
of  recompense  in  business  or  in  politics,  it  is  too  often 
the  case  that  there  are  no  friends  in  sight.  But  "Jim" 
was  not  that  kind  of  a  friend.  The  same  fidelity,  the 
same  honest  friendship  he  displayed  toward  his  strong 
and  influential  companion  in  politics  or  in  business 
was  transmitted  to  that  companion's  widow  and 
orphan — and  in  the  transmission  it  seemed  to  grow 
and  thrive. 

"Jim"  was  one  of  those  men  with  whom  one  could 
not  associate  for  an  hour  without  learning  much.  Not 
everyone  knew  how  thorough  a  student  he  was;  yet 
everyone  knew  that  his  sympathies  were  broad  and 
deep,  that  his  heart  was  big,  and  that  wherever  men 
were  hopeless,  wherever  women  were  friendless, 
wherever  children  were  fatherless,  they  could  find  in 
"Jun"  a  faithful  friend. 

It  was  "Jim's"  privilege  to  occupy  several  places 
of  honor  and  trust,  public  and  private.  As  a  member 
of  the  legislature  he  was  a  free  man  who  served  the 
people  faithfully.  As  steward  of  one  of  Nebraska's 
state  institutions,  he  was  methodical  and  business- 
Uke  and  never  did  an  unclean  dollar  stain  his  hands. 
As  a  citizen  he  was  vigilant  for  the  public  good.  As 
a  man  he  was  pure  and  upright.  As  a  friend  he  was 
true  and  faithful.  He  gave  to  the  world  considerably 
more  than  the  world  ever  gave  to  him. 

Poets  may  sing  of  love  and  philosophers  may  write 
of  friendship;  but  one  may  search  poetry  and  philos- 
ophy in  vain  for  an  adequate  description  of  the  great 


*^0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom"  203 

concern  which  for  more  than  seventeen  years  "Jim" 
had  in  my  welfare.  I  am  not  capable  of  rising  to 
the  heights  of  love  ever  occupied  by  his  great  soul, 
but  he  taught  me  love  and  loyalty  for  one's  friends 
in  every  hour  of  our  acquaintance. 

There  are  in  Nebraska  so  many  men,  women  and 
children  to  whom  "Jim"  did  some  loving  service  that 
I  am  sure  I  express  their  sentiments  when  I  write 
above  his  grave,  in  paraphrase  of  the  sweet  epitaph 
he  loved  so  well: 

"Warm  western  sun,  shine  kindly  here; 
Warm  western  breeze  blow  softly  here; 

Green  sod  above,  lie  light,  lie  light! 
Good  night,  dear  heart!  Good  night.  Good  night." 


204  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom" 


KEEPING  CHRISTMAS  IN  THE  HEART 

?GRAN'  rasslin'  match  is  goin'  on  in  ivery 
corner  iv  th'  civylyzed  globe,"  says  Mr. 
Dooley,  "  an'  we're  all  in  a  tangle,  fightin', 
quarrelin',robbin',  plundhrin',  or  murdhrin', 
accordin'  to  our  tastes.  It's  what  Hogan  calls  th* 
struggle  f'r  existence,  an'  it'll  always  go  on  while 
there's  a  dollar  in  the  wurruld,  a  woman,  or  a  ribbon 
to  wear  in  our  coats.  But  on  the  three  hundred  an' 
sixty-fifth  day  suddenly  we  hear  a  voice:  *Gin tie- 
men,  gintlemen,  not  befure  th'  childher.'  An'  we 
get  up  an'  brush  th'  dust  off  our  clothes  and  shake 
hands,  pretindin'  it  was  all  fun.  Th'  kids  have  come 
in." 

Wouldn't  things  be  changed  if  after  the  truce  ob- 
served December  25,  the  men  and  women  of  the 
world  failed  to  renew  the  fighting  and  the  quarrel- 
ing? Wouldn't  life  be  more  than  worth  the  living  if 
after  keeping  Christmas  in  the  form,  by  filling  the 
children's  stockings  on  Christmas  eve  and  exchang- 
ing gifts  and  salutations  with  friends  on  Christmas 
day,  we  kept  Christmas  in  the  heart  for  the  balance 
of  the  year? 

One  writer  gave  us  a  hint  when  he  said  that  the 
kindness  and  good  cheer  generally  prevalent  during 
the  Christmas  season  represents  the  normal  condition 
of  society  v/hen  it  shall  reach  that  perfection  pos- 
sible among  human  beings.  And  there  are  those  who 
believe  that  in  spite  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars  be- 
tween natio^o*.  in  the  face  of  oppression  and  greed 


*^0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom"  205 

among  individuals,  we  are  moving  to  that  very  con- 
dition where — keeping  Christmas  in  the  heart — men 
and  women  will  obtain  during  all  the  year  the  inspi- 
ration and  exaltation  they  derive  during  the  few 
hours  of  the  designated  season  when  they  keep 
Christmas  in  the  form.  And  those  who  indulge  in 
this  bit  of  optimism  tell  us  that  Love  is  leading  the 
way. 

Well,  Love  knows  the  way;  and  the  men  and  wo- 
men who  follow  her  call  will  find  it. 

And  how  are  we  to  put  in  the  entire  year  "keeping 
Christmas  in  the  heart?"  Certainly  not  by  hanging 
up  the  stockings  every  evening  of  the  year;  nor  by 
continual  exchange  of  gifts;  nor  by  making  perpetual 
the  strain  and  labors  of  the  Christmas  season  as  we 
now  observe  it.  But  rather  by  toning  down  some  of 
the  madness — or,  if  you  prefer  to  call  it,  the  enthu- 
siasm— of  that  season,  so  that  in  our  efforts  to  make 
a  showing  for  ourselves  and  our  immediate  friends 
we  put  no  undue  strain  upon  the  pocketbook  of  our 
bread-winner,  and  impose  no  undue  burdens  upon 
the  poorly  paid  shop  girl.  She — though  we  some- 
times forget  it — is  the  child  of  some  other  parents 
who  are  just  as  anxious  that  their  child  be  comfort- 
able and  free  from  vexatious  burdens  as  we  are  that 
our  child  be  surfeited  with  Christmas  gifts. 

It  is  by  the  use  of  a  little  leaven  that  leaveneth 
the  whole  lump;  by  a  little  spreading  out  of  the  great 
pile  of  friendly  salutation,  of  generosity,  of  good 
cheer  and  of  kindly  disposition  that  now  characterize 
the  Christmas  season;  so  that  without  detracting  from 
the  joy  of  that  period,  we  contribute  to  the  continu- 
ing happiness  of  men  and  to  the  permanent  weU- 
being  of  the  world. 


206  ^^Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom^* 

One  would  be  thought  simple,  indeed,  were  he  to 
ask  in  this  day:  "What  is  love?"  There  are,  ready 
at  hand,  so  many  answers  to  the  question  and  most 
of  them  are  plainly  illustrated  in  every  day  life. 

The  mother  bending  o'er  her  first  bom  tells  us 
that  is  love— and  the  love  light  that  lies  withm  that 
mother's  eyes  tells  us  that,  at  least,  is  truth. 

The  father,  ready  to  sacrifice  his  all  for  the  future 
of  his  boy,  tells  us  that  is  love;  and  we  know  that 
he  speaks  as  one  who  feels  and,  feelmg,  knows. 

The  maiden  knows  that  love  is  described  in  that 
picture  where: 

"A  warrior  so  bold,  and  a  virgin  so  bright 
Conversed  as  they  sat  on  the  green. 
They  gazed  on  each  other  with  tenderest  delight, 
Alonzo  the  Brave  was  the  name  of  the  Knight — 
The  maiden's  the  Fair  Imogene." 

The  manly  lad  with  the  first  touch  of  down  on  his 
lip  knows  what  love  is  when,  turning  to  the  sweet- 
heart of  his  youth,  he  says: 

"If  you  become  a  nun,  dear 
The  bishop  Love  will  be; 
The  cupids  every   one,  dear  I 
Will  chant— 'We  trust  in  theel"' 

One  poet  tells  us  "Love  is  madness,  love  is  sadness"; 
another  that  it  is  "The  sweetest  joy,  the  wildest  woe." 
One  grown  crusty  in  bachelorhood  calls  it  "a  delusion 
and  a  snare";  and  a  hopeless  one  declares  "Love  is 
the  tyrant  of  the  heart;  it  darkens  reason,  confounds 
discretion;  deaf  to  counsel  it  runs  a  headlong  course 
to  desperate  madness." 

But  the  biliousness  of  the  poets  and  the  cynicism 
of  the  despondent  cannot  affect  the  views  of  the  man 
who  has  walked  by  love's  side;  walked  by  love's  side 


"Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom"  207 

when  he  gathered  the  myrtle  with  Mary;  walked  by 
love's  side  when  he  led  to  the  altar  the  girl  of  his 
choice;  walked  by  love's  side  at  the  cradle  of  the  first 
bom  to  that  holy  union;  walked  by  love's  side — and 
held  within  his  own  trembling  grasp  love's  firm  hand 
— by  the  little  grave  in  which  was  centered  that 
common  interest  which  binds  two  hearts  closer  than 
any  marriage  vow  yet  spoken  by  a  priest. 

We  know  that  when  the  maid  and  the  lad,  the 
mother  and  the  father,  and  the  friend  have  spoken 
they  have  told  us  of  love — and  that  that  is  love,  in- 
deed! But  all  these  are  but  representative  of  the 
real  thing — the  outcropping  in  particular  individuals 
of  that  which  was  to  affect  all  individuals;  the  tri- 
umph in  particular  quarters  of  that  which  was  to 
dominate  in  all  quarters;  the  hint — strong  and  beau- 
tiful, but  a  mere  hint  nevertheless — of  that  great 
"truth  of  truths"  which  Disraeli  described  as  "The 
principle  of  existence  and  its  only  end." 

Keeping  Christmas  in  the  heart  as  a  rule  of  life 
rather  than  as  a  mere  holiday  pastime  it  will  not  be 
necessary  "when  the  children  come  in"  for  us  to 
"brush  th'  dust  off  our  clothes  an'  shake  hands  pre- 
tindin'  it  was  all  fun."  Then  "the  children's  sea- 
son" will  last  the  year  'round;  then  the  air  will  be  full 
of  music;  the  world  will  be  full  of  flowers;  life  will  be 
full  of  hope — because  the  hearts  of  men  are  full  of 
love. 

The  world  is  not  growing  worse  as  some  of  the 
disconsolate  would  have  us  beheve.  It  is  growing 
better  and  there  flows,  at  this  moment,  from  the 
hearts  of  men  more  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness 
than  at  any  other  time  in  the  history  of  the  world. 


208  "Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom" 

What  if  meanness  and  oppression  are  revealed?  The 
very  revelation  shows  the  power  of  public  opinion; 
and  shows,  also,  that  the  trend  of  men's  thought  is 
upward.  What  if  doctrinaires  complain  that  men 
are  becoming  indifferent  to  the  details  of  creeds? 
That  is  because  they  are  more  determined  than  ever 
in  their  efforts  to  get  closer  to  God. 

One  of  the  best  known  of  Nebraska  bankers,  re- 
sponding to  the  question:  "Is  the  world  getting 
worse?"  replied,  "No,"  and  added:  "There  never  was 
a  generation  in  this  country  in  which  the  moral  hazard 
as  a  basis  for  credit  entered  so  largely  as  in  this." 

Practical  men  are  turning  to  the  better  things  of 
life.  They  know  that  love  and  the  things  it  stands 
for  are  alone  worth  cultivating;  they  know  that  to 
cherish  malice,  to  lay  traps  for  one's  neighbor,  to 
encourage  vanity  and  indulge  in  bombast  is  a  verita- 
ble waste  of  time. 

"Keeping  Christmas  in  the  heart"  will  yet  become 
the  habit  of  men;  and  he  who  adopts  that  habit  will 
find 

"My  bounty  is  as  boundless  as  the  sea, 
My  love  as  deep;  the  more  I  give  to  Thee 
The  more  I  have,  for  both  are  infinite." 

In  art  and  literature  the  little  child  is  made  the 
representative  of  innocence  for  obvious  reasons.  The 
Danish  queen  who  wrote,  "Oh  keep  me  innocent, 
make  others  great"  voiced  what  is  today  the  wish  of 
many  thoughtful  parents  with  respect  to  the  future 
of  their  children,  as  it  well  might  be  the  wish  of 
thoughtful  men  with  respect  to  the  future  of  their 


»0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom^^  209 

race.  Men  of  the  past  who  were  controlled  by  vanity 
where  they  were  not  moved  by  greed,  struggled  under 
the  embarrassments  and  handicaps  of  those  who 
would  be  "great";  let  the  men  of  the  future  be  touched 
with  the  satisfying  qualities  of  innocence  and  find 
that  contentment  awaiting  those  who  are  willing  to 
seek  it  along  the  simple  lines  where  Love  will  lead  the 
way. 

For  my  own  children  I  breathe  this  Christmas 
prayer: 

Give  them  knowledge;  but  hold  them  true. 

Ripen  their  intellect;   but  keep  their  hearts  young. 

Lead  them  to  the  heights  where  by  learning  much 
from  their  teachers  men  may  give  much  to  their  fel- 
lows; but  let  them  retain  to  the  end  a  practical  trust 
in  the  tenderness  of  men  and  a  simple  faith  in  the 
goodness  and  the  allness  of  God. 

Let  them  be  kind  to  every  creature — to  every  man 
grown  weary,  to  every  woman  grown  faint,  to  every 
child  made  homeless,  to  every  bird  in  the  air  and  to 
every  beast  in  the  field — finding  in  all  things  some- 
thing to  command  their  concern,  and  in  all  beings 
something  to  stir  their  affections. 

Keep  Christmas  within  their  hearts,  work-day  and 
play-day  alike,  making  each  one  feel,  during  all  the 
journey  through  life,  that: 

"Whatever  mine  ears  can  hear, 
Whatever  mine  eyes  can  see, 
In  nature  so  bright  with  beauty  and  light, 
Has  a  message  of  love  for  me." 


tfcl 


\ 


DES  MOINES,  lA.,  REGISTER  AND  LEADER:     "It 

is  deserving  of  the  tributes  paid  it." 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  DISPATCH:  "It  is  one  of  the 
sweetest  and  most  inspiring  little  volumes  that  one 
could  wish." 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  HERALD:  "This  is  a  book 
thoughtful,  earnest  and  sincere;  a  book  of  high  inspir- 
ation and  noble  ideals,  a  book  that  everyone  would  be 
the  better  for  reading." 

ST.  LOUIS  POST  DISPATCH:  "It  is  a  book  of  in- 
tensely interesting  human  interest  stories  and  is  well 
worth  reading,  not  only  as  a  pleasant  pastime  but  for 
the  real  good  that  is  to  be  derived  from  its  perusal." 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  INTER-OCEAN:  "The  book  is  one 
admirably  suited  to  the  family  circle  and  the  fireisde 
where  it  might  be  read  aloud  to  the  advantage  of  all." 

JOHNSTOWN,  PA.,  DEMOCRAT:  "It  contains 
that  touch  of  nature  which  makes  the  whole  woild  kin." 

ST.  LOUIS  REPUBLIC:  "It  is  a  relief  to  read  'Of 
Such  is  The  Kingdom'  after  reading  a  modein  liighly 
imaginative  and  altogether  impossible  novel." 

COLUMBUS,  0.,  PRESS  POST:  "There  is  nothing 
sordid  or  out  of  tune  out  in  the  volume,  but  it 
strikes  a  new  note  of  simple  goodness  \Ahich  per- 
vades  the  world." 

BIRMINGHAM,  ALA.,  NEWS:  "It  is  full  of  those 
thoughts  which  will  appeal  to  all  peaople  and  specially 
to  the  mothers,  the  teachers  and  all  who  love  child 
life." 

KANSAS  CITY,  STAR:  "It  is  a  simple  and  forceful 
appeal  and  the  best  in  human  personal  relation." 

THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC,  ATLANTA,  GA:  "It 
is  just  such  a  book  as  should  be  in  every  househol<I 
and  read  by  every  young  girl  and  boy  in  the  land,  and 
women  and  men  too  for  that  matter,  for  it  appeals  to 
the  highest  instincts  and  Godlike  nature  within  us." 


Have  you  read  The  Nebraska   Book,   \ 
**0f  Such  is  the  Kingdom,"  by  Richard 
L.  Metcalfe? 

It  is  seUing  in  every  State  in  the  union. 


If  you  want  to 
make  a  gift  to  a 
friend,  young  or 
old,  send  a  copy 
of  this  book. 


Read  on  inside  pages 
what  high  authorities 
say  about   this  book. 


209  pages,  printed  on  good  paper,  bound  in 
cloth,  and  sent  postpaid  for  $1.00.  Address  or- 
ders to         WILLIAM  B.  METCALFE, 

General  Agent, 

P.  O.  Box  28  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 


"Such  is  the  book  which  Richard  Metcalfe  sends  out  of  the 


IRVING  BACHELLER,  author  of  "Eben  Hoklon," 

Ui\t  rbitii'.  (.uiin.:     "Yuur  little  book  stands   for  the 

bc>t  things  and  I  wish  you  a  million  readers.     1  have 

'  btfn  channeti  with  tlie  freshness  and  the  spirit  of  it." 

JOHN  M.  HARL.\N,  Associate  Justice,  United  States 
Supreme  Court:  "Your  little  book.  'Of  Such  is  the 
Kingilom.'  has  been  read  by  me  with  more  than  or- 
dinarj-  interest.  Indeed,  I  have  read  it  through  twice. 
No  one  can  read  these  stories  from  life  without  both 
interest  and  prtjfit,  or  without  having  a  higher  concep- 
tion of  his  duty  to  God  and  to  his  fellowman." 

W.  J.  BRYAN,  Lincoln,  Neb.:  "To  those  who  have 
read  these  .>-tories,  they  need  no  praise;  to  those  who 
have  not  lead  them,  I  commend  them  as  soothing, 
strengthening  and  in>^i)iring.  They  are  really  heart 
talks  and  explain  the  .secret  of  .Mr.  Metcalfe's  success 
as  a  joumali.-<t.  He  knows  human  nature  and  is  uni- 
versal   in    his   sympathies." 

DAVID  J.  BREWER,  .V-ssociate  Justice,  United 
Stateii  Supreme  Court:  "It  is  one  of  the  most  en- 
joyable book>'  we  have  lately  seen.  There  is  something 
about  it  which  makes  the  strongest  appeal  to  every 
gyntpathetic  heart,  to  everyone  who  believes  in  his 
fcllowmen  and  the  possibilities  of  a  better  life." 

ALTON  B.  PARKER,  New  Y'ork:  "I  desire  to  ex- 
^,T■  !(iniir;i«i<iii  tor  the  book.     It  cannot  but  prove 

a  V  to  all  who  are  fond  of  children  and  delight 

to  journey  «ith  them  in  'The  Kingdom  of  Never  CJrow 
Old.'  " 

CONGRESSMAN  CHAMP  CLARK,  Bowline;  Green, 
.Mo.;  It  is  not  only  a  deliglitfuJ  book  but  wholesome 
and  ought  to  do  a  world  of  good.  I  wish  that  every 
father  and  mother  in  the  land  had  a  copy." 


DR.  I.  K.  FUNK,  of  the  great  publishing  house  of 
Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company,  New  Y'ork:  "1  have  read 
it  aloud  to  my  family  with  increasing  pleasure  and 
edification.  It  siiould  have  a  place  in  every  family 
libraiy  and  should  be  read  whenever  shadows  thicken.' 

E.  BENJAMIN  ANDREWS,  Chancellor  Nebraska 
State  University,  Lincoln,  Nebraska:  "When  1  read 
a  chapter  in  'Of  Such  Is  The  Kingdom,'  1  said,  'Here  is 
a  jewel.'  Reatling  on  and  on  I  changed  to  'Here  is  a 
whole  casket  of  jewels.'  The  book  is  rich  with  fine 
thought  and  tender  and  elevating  sentiment.  It  Will 
have  a  host  of  readers,  none  of  whom  will  give  it  up  till 
he  has  read  it  through." 

GEN.  CHARLES  F.  MANDERSON,  Omaha,  Neb.: 
"Y'our  sweet  book,  'Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom,'  came  to 
me  like  a  blessing  and  has  filled  my  home  with  lasting 
perfume.  The  first  chapter  won  me;  and  my  wife  and 
I,  in  joint  bondage,  have  remained  your  willing  and 
contented  captives." 

CHARLES  E.  MAGOON,  Governor  of  Cuba:  "The 
book  is  literally  a  pure  delight  and  there  must  be  some- 
thing wrong  with  anyone  who  does  not  enjoy  it." 

JOHN  WANAMAKER,  Fonner  Postmaster  General, 
Pliiiadelphia,  Ta. :  "1  feel  sure  that  its  perusal  will 
1)0  helpful  to  any  who  read  it.  It  is  a  book  that  one 
would  care  to  keep  by  him  for  future  reference." 

J.  C.  W.  BECKHAM,  Governor  of  Kentucky:  "I 
have  read  it  with  much  pleasure  and  gladly  commend 
it  to  all  as  an  interesting  and  valuable  book." 

EDWARD  F.  DUNNE,  Former  Mayor,  Chicago:  "To 
aJiy  fatlier  or  any  human  being  who  loves  children  this 
book  is  a  treasure  which  he  would  not  part  with  for 
money." 


''est — a  book  which,  once  read,  abides  in  memory *s  heart." 


JAMES  K.  VAR DAMAN,  Governor  of  Mississippi, 
Jackson,  Miss.:  "This  book  is  truly  a  message  from 
the  heart — a  message  which  brings  with  it  peace  and 
love  and  hope.  No  man  or  woman  can  read  it  with- 
out being  benefited.  1  wish  that  it  could  go  into 
every  American  home." 

NEWELL  DWIGHT  HILLIS,  Plymouth  Church, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.:  "It  is  a  suggestive  and  inspiring 
study." 

UNITED  STATES  SENATOR  E.  J.  BURKETT,  Lin- 
coln, Nebr. :  "I  am  dehghted  with  it,  as  eveiyone 
must  be  who  reads  it.  Those  beautiful  stories  are 
so  tender  and  so  touching  that  they  reach  the  very 
heart  and  soul  of  a  man." 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR     NORRIS    BROWN, 

Kearney,  Nebr.:     "It  is  a  beautiful  book  and  has  won 
my  heart." 

D.  W.  C.  HUNTINGTON,  Chancellor  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, University  Place,  Nebraska:  "I  have  taken 
sincere  pleasure  in  reading  it  and  trust  that  many  others 
may  experience  the  same." 

CONGRESSMAN  G.  M.  HITCHCOCK,  Omaha,  Nebr.: 
"1  spent  several  pleasant  hours  last  night  with  the 
little  volume  and  find  its  touching  stories  delightful." 

ALBERT  LEONARD,  editor  American  Journal  of 
Pedagogy,  Boston:  "I  like  the  tone  of  the  book  from 
the  first  to  last.  It  is  good  to  liave  a  book  of  this  kind 
to  turn  to,  for  we  all  need  to  have  our  attention  called 
to  what  is  sane  and  wholesome  in  human  life." 

JUDGE  CHARLES  B,  LETTON,  Associate  Justice 
Nebraska  Supreme  Court,  Lincoln,  Nebraska:  "1  have 
read  it  with  enjoyment  and  appreciation  and  trust  it 
may  find  many  readers  who  may  heed  its  counsels." 


LOUIS  F.  POST,  in  The  Public,  Chicago:  "They  are 
stories  of  childlike  affection,  sometimes  in  clilldren  and 
sometimes  in  grown-ups,  which  have  been  lovingly 
gathered  and  touchingly  phrased  by  a  man  of  tender 
thought  and  broad  sympathies." 

^  JUDGE  GEORGE  A.  DAY,  Judge  District  Court, 
()maha,  Nebraska:  "It  is  a  wholesome  book,  which 
does  one  good  to  read." 

JUDGE  JOHN  J.  SULLIVAN,  Former  Chief  Justice, 
Nebraska  Supreme  Court,  Columbus,  Nebraska:  "It  is 
good — thoroughly  good — from  beginning  to  end.  I 
shall  read  it  again.  It  is  well  worth  a  second  reading 
either  for  pleasure  or  inspiration." 

G.  W.  WATTLES,  Vice-President  United  States 
National  Bank,  Omaha,  Nebraska:  "The  book  is  one 
that  must  appeal  to  the  better  nature  of  every  man 
who  reads  it." 

JUDD  MORTIMER  LEWIS,  in  Houston,  Texas, 
Post:  "It  is  a  book  every  father  and  mother  and  lover 
of  children  will  be  delighted  with." 

DR.  GEORGE  L.  MILLER,  President  Humane  So- 
ciety, Omaha,  Nebraska:  "It  is  a  moving  song  of 
love  in  simplest  prose.  Its  gentle  music  of  the  heart 
cannot  fail  in  touching  appeal  and  inspiration  for  all 
that  is  good  and  kind  in  human  nature." 

JUDGE  WILLIAM  H.  MUNGER,  United  States  Dis- 
trict Judge,  Omaha,  Nebr.:  "The  work  cannot  help 
but  prove  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  all  who  read  it." 

MAURICE  H.  DONAHUE,  Judge  Circuit  Court, 
P'ifth  Circuit,  New  Lexington,  Ohio:  "I  regard  this 
book  as  one  ol  the  best  and  most  helpful  books  I  have 
ever  read.  It  is  a  clear,  concise  and  masterful  expres- 
sion of  a  clean,  healthy  mind," 


HENRY  BARRETT  CHAMBERLIN,  in  the  Voter, 
Chicago:  "Childhood — its  poetry,  its  charm  and  its 
power;  parenthood — its  joy,  its  sorrow  and  its  beauty; 
friendship — its  strength  and  its  loyalty;  the  loveliness 
and  the  pathos  of  life  which,  as  it  passes,  both  gives 
and  takes  away — these  are  the  themes  which  engage 
the  pen  of  Nebraska's  noted  v\Titer.  And  the  subjects 
are  treated  lovingly  and  tenderly,  albeit  there  clings 
about  them  a  gentle  melancholy — the  melancholy 
which  the  mature  thoughtful  man,  recalling  days  and 
friends  who  are  no  more,  must  feel  even  though  he 
has  conquered  a  serene  philosophy  which,  viewing  life 
steadily  as  a  whole,  accepts  with  calm  courage  its 
sorrows,  and  while  feeling  them  deeply  and  sympathet- 
ically, yet  pronounces  it  good.  Such  is  the  book 
which  Richanl  Metcalfe  sends  out  of  the  west — a  book 
which,  once  read,  abides  in  memory's  heart." 

FORMER  UNTTED  STATES  SENATOR  WM.  V. 
ALLEN,  Madison,  Nebr. :  "Every  man,  woman  and 
child  should  read  it,  and  I  am  convinced  it  is  destined 
to  exercUe  a  wnder  influence  in  making  good  men  and 
women  than  its  author  could  possibly  have  contem- 
plated when  it  was  written." 

GEORGE  E.  ROBERTS,  Director  of  the  Mint,  Wash- 
ington. D.  C.  "I  have  read  your  little  book,  'Of  Such 
is  the' Kingdom,' through,  as  everyone  will  who  begins 
it.  It  is  refreshing  and  wholesome,  for  it  frees  the 
mind  from  the  sordid  and  petty  cares  that  are  too  apt 
to  absorb  our  strength,  and  stirs  those  higher  sensibil- 
ities in  which  are  the  promise  and  potency  of  a  better 
humanity.  It  has  a  remarkable  collection  of  stories 
reve.iling  the  sweet  influence  of  children  and  the 
inherf>nt  worth  of  human  nature." 

PORTLAND 'OREGON! AN:  "If  you  know  a  man 
who  hates  a  child  ju.st  put  in  his  hands  'Of  Such  is  the 
Kinedom.'  It  will  be  like  a  drop  of  water  in  the  desert 
a  sudden "^eam  of  aunahine  into  a  dark  room." 


THOMAS  E.  WATSON  in  Watson's  Magazine,  Atlanta 
Ga :  "In  this  volume  there  is  much  to  soften  the  :ieart, 
purify  the  thoughts  and  inspire  and  renew  one's  better 
nature.  In  the  awful  contest  between  the  good  and 
the  bad  whi('h  rages  evermore  in  the  soul  of  each  of  us, 
the  good  angel  needs  all  the  help  it  can  get  and  books 
like  this  do  help." 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  COURIER  JOURNAL:  "Cor- 
dially received  by  all  sorts  .and  conditions  of  men." 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.,  NEWS:  "Of  a  high  moral 
tone,  extremely  effective  as  preachment  for  a  better 
and  higher  life." 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  UNION:  "Its  sympathetic 
appeal  to  what  is  best  in  human  nature  as  well  as  its 
marked  literary  merit  have  made  it  one  of  the  most 
popular  books  on  tlie  market." 

STANDARD,  CHICAGO:  "It  is  clean,  wholesome, 
exquisitely  written,  and  furnishes  a  volume  of  fascin- 
ating reading." 

DENVER,  COL.,  TIMES:  "It  is  a  book  of  simple 
studies  of  child  life,  the  child  nature,  the  child  spirit. 
That  the  book  has  brought  gratitude  and  praise  from 
the  world's  busy  actors  only  proves  again  that  the 
roots  of  life  are  buried  deep  in  interests  more  alive  than 
the  great  affairs  of  surface  happenings." 

ATLANTA,  GA.,  NEWS:  "It  is  a  book  for  the  quiet 
hour  when  worries  assail  one  and  bad  thoughts  insist- 
ently make  themselves  felt." 

THE  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  DAILY  NEWS:  "Its  appeal 
in  universal  for  the  highest  and  best  things  in  life  and 
character,  as  the  love  of  children  and  of  simple  child- 
like men  and  women,  friendship  and  loyalty." 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y.  TIMES:  "It  is  refreshing  in  its 
simplicity  and  purity.  The  book  is  one  you  v;ill  place 
whore  it  may  easily  be  reached  for  a  second  reading, 
a  book  equally  interesting  to  father,  mother  and  chil- 
dren." 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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BY  FACILITY 


Have  you  read  The  Nebraska  Book, 
"Of  Such  is  the  Kingdom,"  by  Richard      5    2 
L.  Metcalfe? 

It  is  selling  in  every  State  in  the  union. 


I 


If  you  want  to 
make  a  gift  to  a 
friend,  young  or 
old,  send  a  copy 
of  this  book. 


J 


